And the Beat Goes On: Book One
by Dreamweaver4121
Summary: With Arame defeated and their feelings out in the open, Ranma and Akane believe things will start to settle down. What WERE they thinking? Sequal to Legacy
1. There is no end, just a new beginning

It was the middle of the night. One of the only times that the district of Nerima was consistently quiet. As the resident martial artists slept, dreaming up their next engagement breaking plots and havoc wreaking battles, a new figure appeared from beneath the night's shadow.

She was clad in what appeared to be a deep blue one-piece bathing suit with matching arm and ankle bands. Not unusual for that particular district, as other girls have donned similar outfits in the past. However, this one had a sash tied around her waist with a sheathed dagger attached behind. Completing her outfit was a mask and hood that concealed her identity. Without a sound, she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, taking in as much of the town as she could.

Not too long ago, the ninja was commissioned to track down and retrieve someone. Recently, she had an altercation with that person, but they managed to give her the slip. However, she was able to track that person to this district. Perhaps that person made their home here and just liked to travel every now and then. Perhaps they didn't actually live there; they just liked passing through often. The whys weren't really that important.

Dropping down to street level, she let out s sigh of frustration. Once again, her search was fruitless. Truth be told, she didn't expect anything less of her prey, they being proficient in the martial arts as well. She didn't expect this to be easy, but she didn't think it would be this...not easy. Well, there wasn't anything else she could do. The sun would be up in a couple of hours and she was exhausted from the trip and subsequent search throughout town. She would find a place where she could crash and take up the search again tomorrow night. Hopefully, her prey wouldn't have made themselves scarce by then.

Suddenly, she paused. She seemed to have taken on extra weight for some reason. She craned her neck to check herself as best she could. She found a strange shriveled up lump of...something firmly attached itself to her behind without her noticing.

As she wondered how it got onto her without her knowing and how she should get it off, it looked at her and flashed a perverted grin. "Hiya, toots," it said, as it squeezed her butt cheeks.

At that point, all of the years of ninja training had gone out the window. She responded to him in the same manner in which every woman of Nerima, who had the misfortune of running into the pintsized, lecherous martial arts master, did.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"There Is No End, Just A New Beginning"

-

The next day, during the middle of the afternoon, Ranma and Akane paid a visit to Dr. Tofu's clinic for a check up. The injuries Ranma endured at Arame's hands were quite extensive and he had been under the doctor's care for quite some time afterwards. Thankfully, Ranma was very good at recovering from injury and finally, a couple of weeks removed from the incident, Ranma was given a clean bill of health.

With Ranma taken care of, he persuaded Dr. Tofu to examine Akane. He wanted to make sure that she suffered no lingering effects from the battle either. The main thing, though, was he was curious as to how she was able to withstand that powerful blast and come away with it relatively unharmed. Of course, he made sure not to mention this to either.

As soon as he touched her, Dr. Tofu got an extremely confused look on his face. He didn't say anything about it immediately, he simply continued his examination, checking Akane's torso, spine and limbs, making sure there were no breaks, sprains, or severe bruises. Though he tried to hide his expression, it didn't escape the engaged couple's notice.

"Hmm," said the doctor. "There doesn't appear to be anything to worry about. She's fine."

"You sure doc?" Ranma asked. "You looked kinda concerned there for a second."

"Well, that is true. I wasn't attuned to it properly to get a proper reading, but I did sense something with her aura."

"Anything to be concerned about?"

"Probably not. But I should check it out just to make sure." With their nod of approval, Dr. Tofu focused his ki and began his second examination of Akane.

Even though Dr. Tofu did say that it probably wasn't anything to worry about, Ranma couldn't help but do so. What Akane did for him was exactly the same thing Mrs. Tendo did for her husband in that story he was told. With them having finally declared their love for each other, Ranma would've been devastated if he found out Akane was going to die in the same way. It didn't matter to him whether it would come in ten minutes or ten years, he couldn't bear the thought of losing her because he couldn't protect her. Worse, for her to die protecting him? He didn't think he could continue with life under those circumstances.

As Dr. Tofu continued his exam, the look of confusion on his face got deeper and deeper. "This is incredible," he said finally.

"What is it?" asked Ranma, hopeful since the first words out of the doctor's mouth didn't bode anything unfortunate.

"I don't think I've ever felt an aura like this," he explained. "It's so faint, it's not visible to us, even with our enhanced sensitivity to the ki of others. Even still, it's very powerful. So powerful, in fact, I don't think any other type of energy field would be able to penetrate it."

Akane raised an eyebrow, "What, exactly, does that mean, Doctor?"

"That means if someone...say Ranma here, tried to hit you with their ki based attacks, they wouldn't be able to touch you. Even at rest, your aura is acting like an energy barrier, protecting you from outside energy sources."

Akane's eyes lit up, "So that's why Arame's attack didn't kill me when I jumped in front of it!"

"It's probably another ability you picked up when you went through your transformation," Ranma speculated.

Ah, yes. The transformation. Dr. Tofu was still of two minds about the whole demonic heritage thing. Fundamentally, the Tendo sisters were still the same people he had known for all those years. He doubted it would change things between he, Nabiki and Akane. It was Kasumi he was concerned about. He cared for her very deeply at one time, but knowing what she really was, would his feelings for her change?

Just as his thoughts had shifted towards her, she came walking in the door. "Hello, Doctor. I was just stopping by to see if Ranma and Akane were coming back home soon."

"Ah! Kasumi! Fancy meeting you here of all places," He said...to his skeleton. Guess he didn't have to worry about his feelings for her changing.

"Oh my, he sure is silly, isn't he?" commented Kasumi with a sweet natured laugh.

"Well, looks like our checkups are finished," said Akane.

"Yeah. Guess it's time to get back to work," added Ranma.

----+----+----+----+----

One of the good things about the district of Nerima was the government's public services. Whenever there was a major disaster in the area, especially one committed by one or more of the resident martial artists, a special task force known as N-MARC or the Nerima Martial Artist Repair Crew would leap into action. With their ultra skilled technicians and construction workers, anything from buildings to entire city blocks could be repaired almost immediately.

Unfortunately, N-MARC's recourses were mainly available for government agencies and businesses. It only the occasional circumstance where this special service group would assist in the repair of a private home. For Soun Tendo, this wasn't one of those special circumstances. However, it didn't much matter. He built that dojo piece by piece by himself, just about. It was a very extensive project, to be sure, but it didn't take him very long. This time, with the help of his friend, Genma, his family and a couple of friends, repairs wouldn't take very long at all.

It had been nearly a month since Arame destroyed their dojo, and already, there had been major headway in its restoration. The outer shell had already been replaced, save a few shingles on the roof. He figured in another two weeks, they'd have the inside completely done as well. He smiled. In a way, he was, once again, sticking it to Arame. Once the last nail was hammered in, she would have failed to destroy the Tendo family legacy. If she dared to show her face again, he had no doubt they would defeat her again.

Soun looked up at the roof, being finished by Genma, Mousse and Ranma, who had gotten back from Dr. Tofu's office not too long ago. He wasn't sure why Mousse was there helping them, but he was all to happy to have him. He was also happy to see that he and Ranma weren't tearing down what was built up so far in one of their battles. Quite the contrary, they seemed to be...almost sociable to each other.

"Would you like some tea, sir?"

"Why yes, thank you," answer Soun, taking the cup from the young red head. Autumn, if memory served. He had no idea who this new arrival was, but she and Mousse seemed quite close and getting closer every day. Soun didn't pay much attention to all of the circumstances that surrounded the young ones in the community and really hadn't had much interaction with Mousse. From what he understood, though, he was interested in that Shampoo girl. Soun knew Shampoo quite well, though. He knew Shampoo was madly in love with his daughter's fiancée and the lengths to which she would go to have him. He guessed Mousse finally got tired of chasing after a girl who was in love with someone else. Soun couldn't blame him in the least.

Looked like he made a decent choice in a girl this time as well. Autumn seemed quite pleasant to be around. She also didn't burst through any walls to make an entrance, which scored even more points with him. And so helpful too. He took a long whiff of the tea she gave him...and nearly gagged. "Uh...what kind of tea is this?"

"It's a special medicinal tea made from a variety of herbs I sell at my shop," Autumn said with a smile. "I heard you used a lot of your strength to fight off that demon, so I whipped this up for you to build your energy back."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He held it to his mouth, but pushed it away again. "Ugh...it smells so bad, though."

"If you think it smells bad, wait 'till you taste it," she said, making a disgusted face. "But it works, though. I guarantee it."

"If you say so." Soun held his nose closed and gulped the tea down. It didn't do much to help the taste, but he had to admit, once he was finished, he felt a little better almost immediately. "You're right. It works really well."

"If you drink one cup of that a day, everyday, you'll feel stronger all the time. It's been said to extend your lifespan as well," said Autumn.

"Hmm. I'll have to look into getting a steady supply of this, then."

She gave him a wink, "Be sure to stop by my shop when you have the time. I'll get you as much as you want."

"Hey! Tendo!" shouted Genma from the roof. "The last of the shingles are in. The roof's finished."

Soun looked up at his friend with a smile. The outside was completed. It wouldn't be much longer now. After a quick glance at the sky, Soun shouted back, "You finished just in time, Saotome. It looks like it's going to rain in a little bit."

Genma, Mousse and Ranma's eyes widened. Rain? They looked up at the sky and sure enough, deep gray clouds were rolling in, covering the light of the sun. Without a second thought, the three cursed martial artists dropped down to ground level and ran for cover. One roll of thunder was all the warning they got before the downpour began. They were a mere step away from the safety of the house when they were caught. The bad luck from their curse had struck again.

----+----

After getting inside the house and drying off, Autumn couldn't help but have a good laugh at the three men's expense. "I can't believe it...the three of you are cursed? How did you manage that?"

"We all went to Jusenkyo, we all fell in a spring," said the female Ranma, rolling her eyes.

Autumn laughed again. "It's still amazing to me. I haven't seen this many cursed people outside of a Chinese village. I just have to know...are there any other cursed people that live in this area?"

"Well, there's Shampoo," Ranma started, listing everyone she could think of. "Taro you know of already. Though, he doesn't live around here, thankfully. Oh, and..." Ranma stopped. With Akane sitting right next to her, it would be a very bad thing if he blurted out that Ryouga was cursed as well. "...and, that's everyone that I know of."

"That Shampoo girl is cursed too, huh? Serves her right." Ranma guessed from the reaction that Autumn and Shampoo had met already. Once again, Shampoo's charm had won another friend over. Autumn held up Mousse's duck form and began giggling again. "You're such a cute little ducky. Interesting how your glasses are still able to fit you, even in this form." She began to fiddle with the duck's glasses, then her eyes lit up, thinking of another way to torment him, "I know! Hey, Mousse! Will you say it for me? Come on...AFLAC!"

Mousse just glared at her.

"Here you go, everyone," called Kasumi, bringing in a kettle of warmed water.

"Me first, Please," Genma wrote on a sign. Kasumi poured a bit of the water on him and the panda switched back into human form. "Thank you, my dear," he said, glad to be able to talk again.

"My pleasure, Mr. Saotome. Okay, who's next?"

"Quack!" went Mousse, wiggling out of Autumn's grasp. He flew over and landed in front of Kasumi and she poured the water on him, changing him back into a human. Somehow, he was fully dressed again. "You're a lifesaver!"

"And that just leaves you, Ranma." Walking over to where he was sitting, she poured the last of the water on him, changing him back to his original, male form.

"Thanks, as always, Kasumi." He said. She gave him a warm smile, then went back into the kitchen to put away the kettle.

"Say, Mousse," Akane started. Mousse looked at her and saw she had draped her arms around Ranma's neck. They've gotten quite affectionate real quick. "I was wondering, since you aren't chasing after Shampoo anymore, does this mean you won't be attacking Ranma all the time?"

Mousse returned to his spot next to Autumn and sat down. "If by that you mean if I still see Ranma as my enemy? No." He looked at Autumn and smiled, "Things happen, I understand that all too well. I was just frustrated at how things had been going with me and Shampoo and saw you as a scapegoat. I figured if I defeated you, then our problems would go away and we'd finally be together." He began to look sad. "I suppose even if I did, it wouldn't have changed anything. I never had a chance from the beginning." Akane and Autumn noted his change in demeanor. Mousse clearly had some feeling for Shampoo still. Mousse looked at Ranma and smiled again, "But don't think it's over between us just because we're not enemies anymore. I still have my pride as a man as a martial artist. I'm going to keep training, I'm going to keep challenging you and I'm not going to stop until I defeat you."

Ranma smiled. "You know where you can find me. Just come whenever you're ready."

"You can count on it."

----+----

Once the rain had cleared up, Mousse and Autumn began their walk back to her shop, where she also lived. Seeing that Mousse was her fiancée, and that he had nowhere else to go, now Shampoo and Cologne's tribal enemies, she insisted he move in with her. To earn his keep there, he started working at her shop as well. He had limited training in the identification and use of the various herbs she was selling, but he was quickly learning his way around with her help.

Mousse couldn't help but think back to how casually affectionate Ranma and Akane had become. They were worried about how he viewed Ranma...Mousse was more concerned about what Shampoo's reaction was going to be once she found out. Not to mention all of the others. That was when Mousse took a broad look at the way things had always operated in Nerima. At that moment, he was the only one who recognized how things had changed. Involuntarily, he articulated his response once everything became clear, "Wow..."

Autumn looked at him, "What is it?"

"I just thought of something...Ranma and Akane had been in the center of a very large wheel of insanity. So many people are after them, it's crazy. I mean, you know about Shampoo already."

"Wait, you mean there are more girls after Ranma besides Akane and Shampoo?"

"A lot more. Some of them live in town. I don't even know many of the others. Heh, even his female side has attracted some suitors."

Autumn laughed, "Oh, wow. That must make for some awkward moments."

"And Akane has a bunch of guys after her affections too. Most of it came from Ranma and Akane's reluctance to admit how they felt about each other. Since they argued more than anything, everyone in town thought they hated each other and felt they had a chance. They swore they would get their hands on whichever of them it was they were after, and they didn't care who they had to run over to get what they wanted."

Autumn laughed again, "For such a small town, it sure is interesting here. Glad I came here. It's going to be quite a show."

"That's just the thing," Mousse continued. "From the way they were acting back at their place, it doesn't look like they're shy about their feelings anymore. There's no doubt that once how they feel is made known to all of the other wanna-be brides and grooms, things are going to get very bad, very quick. After that, there may not be much of a show left."

"Why's that?"

"Ranma and Akane has been the center of that wheel of insanity for a long time. Just about everything crazy that has happened to us has revolved around them. With them openly in love, they've effectively removed themselves from that wheel. Unless something else fills the void they left, all of the 'interesting' elements in this town WILL fly apart, to move on with their lives."

Autumn thought about it and came to the same conclusion he did, "Wow..."

"Exactly."

"I sure hope that doesn't happen. I mean, I just got here. I would hate to have missed all of the interesting times this town had to offer."

"That would probably mean another couple would have to become everyone's focus. I wonder what unlucky couple that would end up being." They continued to walk in silence, pondering on the future of the Nerima community. After a few steps, something else came to Mousse that he meant to bring up. He glared at Autumn again. "Aflac?"

That brought the smile back to Autumn's face. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	2. The Truth is Out There

How long had it been since he'd been there? Months? Years?

Whatever it had been, it was way too long.

His previous attempts at claiming the love of his life, Ukyou Kuonji, had all been thwarted by that idiot, Ranma Saotome. This, time, however, things would be different. If there was one thing that was always on his side, it was the element of surprise. Using the element of surprise, he would sneak up on Ranma, pummel him like a man and take what was rightfully his. True, it wasn't the most elaborate...or even intelligent of plans. But when you're in love, sometimes those things just get in the way.

He couldn't see very well from his vantage point, but he could see well enough. He spotted Ukyou in her boys uniform walking to Furinkan High School. There was someone else there, walking besides her...from the way they were talking, they were going together. He couldn't see the other figure too well, but it was clearly a guy. And from the style of hair and how tall the guy was...there was no question. It was the accursed Ranma!

He laughed. It was perfect! He didn't even have to wait long for Ranma to show up and make his move. So, Ranma was trying to horn in on HIS girl again, hmm? He was going to show that pigtailed jerk. One good shot was all it was going to take. Just a little closer...closer...NOW!

-WHAM!-

----+----

"Jeez, Ryouga, what's your problem?" said Ukyou.

Ryouga rubbed his head where he was struck. "I'm not sure, but I think that light pole just attacked me." He stared down at the broken light pole with a confused look on his face.

Ukyou nodded her head, thinking she figured out what was going on. "Look, Ryouga, I know you're nervous about taking the equivalency test, but that's no reason to try faking injuries and hallucinations to try to get out of it. Now come on! We can't be late for this." She started back on her way.

"But I swear that light pole just jumped out at me and...oh, forget it! Wait up!"

----+----

Ryouga? Who was this Ryouga character?

Whoever it was, he could sure take a hit. His disguise was completely ruined in his sneak attack, yet the guy barely even flinched. If this Ryouga guy was trying to move in on Ukyou, he would have to be taken care of as well. But with his strength...he would have to be further studied to find out what his weaknesses were.

He climbed out of his ruined disguise and stood defiantly in the face of his new, potential enemy. Well...as defiantly as a guy could in a long, pink, frilly dress. It didn't matter what it would take...Tsubasa would not be denied this time.

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"The Truth Is Out There"

-

Wearily, Ranma opened his eyes, cursing the sun for interrupting a perfect night's sleep. It had been a long time since he had to worry about school, with everything he had been through. But their fathers had been adamant that he, Akane and Nabiki return to school that day. Screw it. He was so tired, he felt like he could sleep for the rest of the week, so he rolled over and closed his eyes again.

After a few moments, something felt wrong. He looked up and over to his father's sleeping spot. He wasn't there. Usually, this was the time he'd be yelling about Ranma being a lazy, good-for-nothing, toss him out into the backyard and begin their daily sparring match. Of course, it wasn't unusual for Genma to show his laziness and sleep in, but that wasn't the case. Since he wasn't sleeping, nor was he yelling for Ranma to get out of bed, something had to be going on. Now that he thought about it, the closer the dojo got to being repaired, the stranger his father and Mr. Tendo acted. He smelled a wedding plot.

With a yawn, he stood to his feet, scratched a few places unmentionable and started downstairs. School would be starting soon and it wouldn't do for him to go without having breakfast first. At the very least, it would give him the chance to confer with Akane about his suspicions. It wasn't that he minded getting married anymore and he was sure Akane felt the same way. He just wanted it to happen on his own terms. He didn't want it imposed upon him and, again, he was sure Akane felt similarly.

Having reached downstairs, he grunted a good morning greeting to Nabiki, who was at the table, already dressed for school. Once again, his father was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Mr. Tendo. That made him even more suspicious. He shook his head clear, it was something to think about when he was fully awake and had Akane with him to help figure a way out of the impending mess.

Ranma slid the door open to the bathroom and strode in, finding his fiancée already inside, clad only in a towel. She turned to him and smiled warmly, "Good morning Ranma."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Heh, I'm gonna have to get used to this. Usually, this is the point where you'd boot me out callin' me a pervert and stuff."

Akane blushed, "Well, I suppose I'd be a hypocrite if I were to call you a pervert anymore."

Ranma went to the sink and turned on the hot water tap to freshen himself up. "So, are ya ready to get back to school?"

"Yeah," she answered. "After everything that's happened, it'd be good to get back to doing something resembling normal."

"What do you suppose your friends are gonna say once they find out what happened to you?"

Akane paused. "...You know, I think I'm going to keep this a secret. I don't think they'd react favorably to me if they found out that I'm half demon."

"That's gonna be hard to keep a secret," he said, totally missing the pun. "I mean, what're ya gonna do about...that?"

"Kasumi and Nabiki both made it through without anyone finding out. I think I'll be able to also. Though, I may need your help making sure it doesn't present a problem."

"Help?" he repeated. "What kinda help we talkin' about?" She flashed a predatory grin at him. "Oh...figures..."

----+----+----+----+----

Ukyou paced up and down the hallway. She couldn't help it, she was that nervous. She gave Ryouga all the help she could in studying for the test. All that was left was for him to pass. Everything hinged on whether or not he would be admitted into school. She had to do everything she could to make him more attractive in Akane's eyes and schooling was a very important part of that.

If he could pull this off, everything else should fall right into place. They can help each other with homework, with the operations of the restaurant and in planning their next move in regards to Ranma and Akane. Who knows, maybe with a little more education under his belt, Ryouga would be able to come up with a plan or two himself...something that didn't involve putting Ranma in the hospital for a few weeks.

Yes, if everything went the way she was planning, the future would be bright indeed. If only that moron can pass that test. She stopped pacing and looked at the closed door that lead to the testing room. It shouldn't be too much longer now. The regular school day was going to start in a half hour.

Slowly, the door crept open, revealing the bandanna-clad martial artist, staring intently at a piece of paper. Impatiently, Ukyou asked, "So how'd it go?"

He turned the paper over for her to see. It was a one-hundred question test, of which, he only missed seven. Which gave him a score of ninety-three...which meant, "I passed!"

Ukyou squealed and gave him a hug, "You did it! I guess you're not such a dummy after all!"

"Gee, thanks," Ryouga deadpanned.

"So, when are they going to register you?"

"In two days."

"Alright! Come on! Let's go celebrate!"

"Don't you need to go to class soon yourself?"

Ukyou shrugged his concerns off, "Missing one day won't hurt anything." As they walked out of the building, with her arm around his neck, a girl saw them. That one person was all it took for the newest, hot rumor to begin circulating around Furinkan.

----+----

"You really think they're up to something," Akane asked, walking briskly down the sidewalk.

"I'd be surprised if they weren't," said Ranma, who walked on the narrow top of the fence next to said sidewalk. "I mean, they did see us in the front yard before they told us that story. After hearing us say we love each other, you don't really think they would go about things normally without tryin' to get us married off as soon as possible, do ya?"

"Even with what happened with Arame afterwards? You don't think they forgot about that?"

"Feh, doubtful."

They came upon the front gate of the school and Akane stopped just before going in. She put her hand to her chin, thinking deeply. With no more fence to walk on, Ranma dropped down to ground level and kept going. "Say, Ranma..."

He stopped and turned back to her. "What is it?"

"Would it be so bad? You know, getting married now?"

Ranma paused. "...I dunno...I mean, I definitely won't mind getting' married to ya, that's for sure. But now? Especially on their say so? I dunno about you, but I'd rather get married on my own terms."

Akane smiled and nodded, "I like the idea of getting married when WE'RE ready a lot better. Besides, we still have school to finish and everything. There's no need to rush into things." She leaned into him and gave him a hug, "After all, we have the rest of our lives together."

After a moment in the embrace, they suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Looking around, they found nearly the entire student body of Furinkan High staring at them with their mouths hanging open. "What?" went Ranma defensively. "Can't an engaged couple share a hug every now and then?"

Suddenly, everybody started cheering. FINALLY, after all this time, Ranma and Akane have made it clear that they loved each other! And it was about time too! Of course, the extra attention made them wish they could crawl under a rock and hide. Out of the large crowd, their friends, Hiroshi, Daisuke, Saiyuri and Yuka appeared and surrounded them.

"Way to go, man! You finally got the girl!" exclaimed Hiroshi. He patted Ranma on the back vigorously.

"Eh, thanks?" said Ranma.

"Yeah," added Yuka. "I mean, we all knew you two loved each other for quite some time. We were just wondering how much longer it would take for the two of you to admit it to each other."

The questions began, "So, how'd he do it?" asked Saiyuri. "How did he finally say it?"

How to answer that without the need for embarrassing details? "Well, something...er...came up..." Akane blushed deeply, "Let's just say it left me very disturbed; so much so that I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But Ranma was strong for the both of us. He held me in his arms, protectively and...well, after that, the words just came out naturally."

Saiyuri and Yuka blushed. "Wow," Saiyuri said in awe, "that's so romantic."

"Yeah," agreed Yuka. "I didn't even know he had it in him."

Of course, Daisuke had other questions on his mind, "So, have you two done it yet?"

"WHAT?" said Ranma.

Hiroshi grinned, "Sure! After a scene like that, you two had to have."

Ranma turned beet red, "T-that's none of your business!"

Yuka raised an eyebrow. No denials? Hmm..."Tell me, Akane...was he any good?"

Saiyuri and Akane looked at her in shock. "Not you too?" asked Akane.

Yuka shrugged, "Just thought I'd ask."

"FIEND! CHARLATAN! KNAVE! MISCREANT!"

Ranma slapped his forehead. "Gee, I wonder who that was?" he asked sarcastically. As Kuno made his way through the crowd, Ranma and Akane's friends suddenly disappeared back into it. They must've undergone some sort of ninja training while they were absent.

Kuno stood before them, crackling with electricity. Looked like Arame's gift to him stayed, even though she was gone. "So, fowl sorcerer, your evil spell has finally been completed, has it? It is my fault. Had I put you under heel where you belong from the get go, you couldn't have been able to take hold of her heart with your dark magic." He looked at Akane, "I am sorry, dearest Akane Tendo. I have been lax in my duties, but no more. For you, I shall crush this scoundrel!"

"And now we're back to me being the one with the evil mind control," Ranma laughed.

"PREPARE YOURSELF, RANMA SAOTOME!" Kuno raged, as he charged his foe.

-PUNT-

Ranma and Akane watched as the poetic kendoist sailed over the horizon. Strange, though...they weren't the ones who did it. So who? "Uh oh," went Ranma. In the spot where Kuno used to occupy, Ukyou and Ryouga stood. Neither looked happy. "Er...hey guys! Heh, nice day, huh?" Dammit. They had spent so much time worrying about Akane's change and what their fathers were plotting, they completely forgot about all of the other suitors after them.

Faster than anyone could blink, Ryouga had Ranma by the scruff of the neck and Ukyou had a similar hold on Akane. "Damn you, Ranma, what was that you just did to Akane?" Ryouga demanded.

"Erm...hug?"

Ryouga looked like he just took a hard blow to the body. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUG! YOU TWO DON'T HUG!"

"What is the meaning of this?" went Ukyou. "Don't...don't tell me you two..."

Akane nodded. "Yes, we did. We love each other and we've finally stopped pretending otherwise."

"You two aren't really under any spells or anything like that are you?" Akane shook her head. Ukyou and Ryouga looked at Ranma and he shook his head as well.

That was it. The fight was finished. They lost. With one last, angry look, Ryouga looked at Ranma, Ukyou looked at Akane, and said, "You win. But you'd better take good care of him/her. Otherwise, I'LL KILL YOU!" They grabbed the engaged couple with both hands, did a quick spin to gather momentum and tossed Ranma and Akane away, in roughly the same direction Kuno was punted.

Suddenly, the desire to celebrate Ryouga's acceptance to Furinkan High had gone away. With their heads low and their shoulders drooped, Ukyou and Ryouga headed back home.

After some distance, Ranma and Akane suffered the inevitable effects of gravity. They came down on some poor, unsuspecting person's house. They were upside down with their heads stuck in the roof.

"You know, they took that a lot better than I thought they would," Ranma commented.

Akane struggled to get free, "Ugh...you know, I don't think I've ever been on this end of one of these before."

"Don't feel too good, does it?"

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	3. Black & Blue

Mousse couldn't help but smile. The techniques written in the scrolls were amazing. If he knew of these techniques the first time he challenged Ranma, he would've been able to defeat the pigtailed martial artist easily. He found it ironic that he managed to get the skill that could've given him victory against Ranma now, after he no longer considered him an enemy.

From what he understood of Autumn's style, the basis of her techniques were canine based; the fury slash, the lunar rave, and the howl of the hell hound which he hadn't seen yet...and those were just the ones she told him about or that he had seen in battle. The basis of his style, on the other hand, was avian based. The two were incompatible with each other, so they wouldn't be able to learn each other's higher level moves and incorporate it into their own style. Though, from what he saw, her techniques were pretty advanced already.

He had finally learned something that had eluded him up until this point...ki control. He had seen Ranma and Ryouga use ki techniques all the time, and have even seen the girls tap into theirs on occasion. Mousse could barely contain himself once he saw that was the first lesion taught in the scrolls. It took him a while, but he finally learned how to properly focus it for use. The next lesson was the "crashing albatross kick". A fairly basic move where he focuses his ki into his feet and perform a jump-kick with crushing results. He was able to learn that quite easily.

After that, Mousse's excitement level shot up again. The third lesson was the beginning of he learning the pinnacle of his art form. It was the first of the Phoenix skill sets. Phoenix moves were reserved for the best of the best in his particular style. Was this a mistake, or did Cologne really hold him in that high a regard? Not like he as going to go back and ask her and risk her saying that she, indeed gave him the wrong set of scrolls.

The first of the Phoenix set was the Phoenix Inferno; a literal fireball. He lifted his hands in front of him, inches apart, focusing his ki into a ball between them, as hot as he could. First, there was a small spark, which was followed by several more sparks, until a ball of fire ignited between his hands. He smiled at his accomplishment, but he knew this was the easiest of the Phoenix moves to master. In particular, one of the later lessons was the Heart of Fire...the equal, yet opposite technique to the Soul of Ice, which Cologne taught Ranma. Only after that would he be able to master the really high level skills.

The highest-level, most powerful skill one could learn in the scroll was a team move. When one with the Heart of Fire teamed up with one with the Soul of Ice, they could perform a devastating move called the Twin Dragon's Ascension. As things were now, for him to pull off that technique, he'd have to team up with Ranma. Even though he didn't consider Ranma an enemy any longer, he didn't know if he would be up for anything like that with him yet.

For now, this was good enough. He'd have to play with the Phoenix Inferno skill a bit more in order to get the hang of it.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Mousse looked skyward, his concentration being broken. Looks like the stick-wielding idiot had been tossed or punted into the stratosphere yet again. Why did he have to fly in this direction to disturb him, though?

"Hey, Mousse!" called Autumn, who was in her shop tending to customers. "What in the world was that noise?"

"Kuno," Mousse said flatly.

She thought for a moment, "Oh...that guy with the bokken from the cave, right?"

Mousse nodded. "Looks like he irritated someone to send him on his daily flight across town."

Autumn laughed, "Daily?"

"Trust me. He has getting on your nerves down to an art form. I'm sure you'll see what I mean soon enough."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

They looked up again, "Okay, so what was that?"

Mousse paused, not quite believing what he was seeing. "Is that...Ranma and Akane?"

"Them too, huh? That must be the preferred mode of travel around here." She noticed the worried look on Mousse's face. "What is it?"

"I have this sneaking suspicion the cat's out of the bag. If I'm right, things are going to get real bad real quick..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Black and Blue"

-

It was a guy's dream...a tame one compared to some but still, no guy would pass up this view. The St. Heberke High School for Girls martial arts rhythmic gymnastics team during a practice session. As a competitive team, they were second to none, thanks to their team captain. With her rigorous training, the team's skill, speed, timing and use of weapons was close to flawless. No one in their region could defeat them in a competition. Of course, hardly anyone has ever actually competed against the team, also thanks to their team captain and her unscrupulous methods outside the ring.

Of course, the part a guy would love would be seeing all of the female bodies in motion as they practiced in their skimpy leotards. Truly, when it came to the skill or beauty of St. Heberke's gymnastics team, Kodachi Kuno's squad was a cut above all the rest. Indeed, when there is an actual event and guys are allowed in to watch, they always give more than the usual attention to her team.

However, there was only one guy's attention that held any interest to Kodachi. That, of course, was Ranma Saotome. Just like her and her team, he was just a cut above all the other guys she had met up to that time. Kodachi's philosophy was the best deserved the best. Sure, there were other girls after Ranma's heart, but she was sure that Ranma would recognize who the best of the girls were. Once he did that, he would be with her, as it should be, and they will have their happily ever after.

Just the thought of the two of them together made her laugh manically in an almost insane glee. She stopped and looked around, seeing all of the other girls had stopped practicing to stare at her. "What?" she demanded with the sternest look she could muster through a blush. The other girls immediately went back to practicing. Kodachi busting out laughing, for apparently no reason, was nothing new to them. Sometimes it meant that she had a devilish idea in mind for whatever opposing team they were going against. Sometimes, it just meant that she was going to make life miserable for some unlucky soul. Either way, it was just best to leave her be.

One girl, however, just couldn't. She ran through the crowd and approached the team captain. With a slight bow, she went up to Kodachi and whispered something in her ear. "Are you sure?" asked Kodachi. The girl nodded. "Okay team," Kodachi yelled, addressing everyone assembled. "I'll need to excuse myself for a bit. You keep practicing until I get back." With that, she ran out of the gym.

It didn't take long for her to reach the nurse's office to find what the girl had told her was, indeed true. Her brother was there, apparently having crashed through the roof. This, of course, was nothing out of the ordinary. Tatewaki Kuno had a way with people...whenever he interacted with anyone else, it usually resulted with him being punted into space. Kodachi didn't think there was a building in town her dear brother hadn't fallen into. She had been guilty of punting him a few places herself.

What was out of the ordinary, though, was the incredibly somber look on his face. Something was amiss; she could feel it. He turned to her and nodded, "Hello sister."

"Brother dear, whatever is the matter?"

He put a couple of fingers on the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. "The heavens have granted me incredible power, for they knew my greatest battle was yet ahead. It would seem that foul sorcerer's spell has neared completion."

Kodachi's eye twitched. She never appreciated how her brother spoke about her beloved. "What exactly do you mean, dear brother?"

"My poor Akane Tendo has succumb to his dark powers. She believes herself to be in love with him and he with her."

Her jaw dropped, "WHAT? Never! My dearest Ranma would never become enamored with that wench."

Kuno's eye twitched. He never appreciated how his sister spoke about his beloved. "Well, if you had witnessed the public display of affection they shared mere moments ago as I have, you would have no question in your mind."

"N-no..." Her blood began to boil and she clenched her teeth, seething in anger, "That harlot! She must have bewitched my darling somehow!" As different as they were, they were related still, so inevitably, some of their thought processes would cross over. She acquired her ribbon from subspace and bounded out of the nurse's office. "Worry not, my love! I shall save you from that hereden's evil wiles! OOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

"You shall not lay a finger upon Akane Tendo!" demanded her brother. "I shall defeat the knave, Ranma Saotome, and free her from his spell once and for all!"

----+----+----+----+----

How quickly things change. It seemed like everything was going exactly as she intended. Ryouga had moved into her restaurant to help out, freeing up some of her time. He had even passed Furinkan's equivalency exams so he could enroll in the proper grade. He would've been more attractive to Akane with some education under his belt, making it easy for them to sway her over to his side, which would leave Ranma free for the taking.

All of the preliminaries were put in place. They just needed the time to get their master plan started. However, that plan was derailed before it was even set into motion. Ukyou slouched over in her chair and sighed deeply. Done in before they could even hatch one scheme. What in the world could have happened between Ranma and Akane that they would've confessed their love for each other so soon? Could it have had something to do with whatever caused Furinkan to blow up a few weeks ago? Whatever it was, it was a moot point now.

She stole a glance at the clock over her stove...lunch time already. In a few hours, classes would be over and it would be time for her to open up shop. Her customers would just have to go hungry. She was too distraught to open the restaurant. Besides which, with how she was feeling, she'd make a mess of things anyway, either by burning a dish or snapping at a customer. Better to cool off before having to face the public again.

There was another sigh a couple of tables away from her. Ryouga slouched over in his seat as well, bemoaning the fact that he had failed once again in gaining his heart's desire. Why? Why was it he always had to struggle so hard, to fight through impossible odds, get within an inch of his goal just to lose out in the end? Why did it seem Ranma, in comparison, always had things handed to him, many times without him even appreciating them?

It was that way from middle school when they first met all the way up to now. He always managed to learn new skills like it was nothing. In almost every confrontation, he was able to take out Ryouga with no problem. Ranma had the love of his life...the love of Ryouga's life just fall right into his lap. With nearly no effort at all, Ranma acquired a circle of friends and potential lovers. Ryouga, meanwhile, was always one step behind, always alone, always lost. He didn't think he had one real friend in the world.

Well, that wasn't exactly true, was it? He looked over at Ukyou. With her recent actions, it seemed as though she was a true friend. She took him in and pushed him into going back to school, even helping him study for the exams. It couldn't take the place of the love he had lost, but it certainly felt good to have someone there to lean on when he needed it.

"Hey," Ukyou said to him, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind not blowing up my restaurant? It's all I have left."

Ryouga gave her a puzzled look. She reached into her school bag, which was on the table in front of her and pulled out a mirror. She held it up to him and he saw in the reflection that he was glowing. "Oh. Sorry." He got up and went to the back yard and fired off the excess energy he had built up into the sky. It was strange to him that the Roaring Lion's Bullet would activate on its own like that. Perhaps, the whole thing had him so depressed, he let his control slip and it came to life involuntarily. He'd have to keep that in check. With that taken care of, he went back inside and sat down in the space he had before.

Watching him, Ukyou shook her head and muttered, "Pfft, idiot."

For a mutter, it was quite loud. Ryouga looked at her, "Who's an idiot?"

"You. You should learn to keep your stupid skills in check before you accidentally hurt someone."

"Fine way to talk to a friend."

Ukyou feigned shock, "Friends? Whatever gave you the impression that WE were friends? I was just going to use you to help break Ranma and Akane apart. After that, I couldn't have cared less if we ever saw each other again or not. Friends? Please. I can barely stand being in the same room with you.

"If that's the way you feel about me, then why the hell did you invite me into your home?"

"Weren't you listening? I needed you as a tool to drive a wedge between Ranma and Akane. That's all you ever were. All that other stuff was incidental to the plans we had to formulate."

"So why am I still here?"

"You know? That's a good question. GET OUT!" Ukyou pointed emphatically at the door and leveled Ryouga with the iciest glare she could muster.

What a surprise. It looked as if he was wrong again. He really didn't have a friend in the world. Ryouga stood to his feet, grabbed his super heavy backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He walked over to the front door and opened it. Before he went through, he paused and looked back at Ukyou. "You know, it's easy to see why Ranma chose Akane over you. You like to put on a front like you're sweet and friendly and all that. But deep inside, you really are a fowl person who would use anyone you saw fit to get what you want then throw them away once you didn't need them anymore. When it comes down to it, you're no better than Shampoo."

How dare he compare her to that tramp! Seething with rage, Ukyou picked up the nearest thing, which happened to be her school bag and hurled it at him. It hit the door and fell to the floor, Ryouga having already gone through and closed it behind him. With no one else close by to take out her frustrations on, she slammed her fist into the table, breaking it into splinters and broke down, crying.

On the other side of the door, Ryouga properly placed the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. He could hear Ukyou wailing inside and despite the hateful argument that just took place, his heart went out to her and he wanted to go back in and comfort her. But she had made it abundantly clear that his presence was no longer welcome. With nothing left to do, he began walking, not caring where he ended up.

----+----+----+----+----

Not far away from St. Heberke, Ranma and Akane were trekking their way back to their own high school, returning from the aerial tour of Nerima Ukyou and Ryouga sent them on. It was fortunate for them the occupant of the home they landed on wasn't there. Their heads wouldn't come out of the holes they made, so they forced themselves to fall all the way through. They felt bad for whomever it was who lived there, but not bad enough to stick around for them to come back. The dojo was costing the Tendos quite a bit to repair; the last thing they needed was the added expense of paying for someone else's roof.

Akane shook her head, trying to figuratively and literally, shake the cobwebs out. "Ugh, remind me never to do that again. I'm still picking shingles out of my hair."

Ranma looked at her, hopeful, "does that mean you won't be doing that to me anymore?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "I won't if you're good."

"Feh, I'm always good. You just need to stop overreacting to stuff."

"ME? Overreact?" She playfully swatted him on the arm. "You must have me mistaken for someone else Mr. Saotome. I never overreact."

"Oh really? I must've been engaged to some other girl named Akane Tendo, then. That girl used to fly off the handle over the littlest thing."

"Well, I guess you could say that I've finally come to appreciate some of those little things. Your honesty, for example; it's a little abrasive." She paused for a moment. "A lot abrasive." She paused again. "Like coarse sandpaper with little, jagged rocks stuck on it."

"OKAY, I get the message."

"Still, when I felt like the world was closing in on me and I couldn't believe in anyone, I knew I could trust you. You would be truthful with me no matter what. You have no idea how comforting that was." She smiled. "I guess with all that I've been through, I really AM a different person.

"Does this mean you ain't gonna hit me over silly stuff anymore?" Ranma asked her, hopeful.

She held up her right hand and gave him a pledge, "Absolutely! I promise I will never 'fly off the handle' and hit you again."

Ranma smiled, "That's great to hear!"

"...unless you really deserve it."

He stopped in his tracks, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever I want it to!" She stuck her tongue out at him and began running. She didn't take too many steps before a familiar looking club appeared out of nowhere and clocked her right between the eyes. She fell over seeing stars.

"AKANE!"

She sat up and shook her head clear. "Ouch, what hit me?" She looked at the offending object and knew exactly whom it was that threw it. Looking up towards the end of the block and sure enough, there stood insanity incarnate, Kodachi Kuno. Akane glared at the gymnast, "What do you want?"

Kodachi twirled her ribbon as she spoke, "I have come to do what I should have done a long time ago, Akane Tendo. You have tainted my dearest with your vile presence long enough. The time has finally come for me to purge this world of your existence so that I can finally have my darling Ranma at my side!"

Akane stood up and glared at the gymnast, "You're crazy!"

"Yes, that I am," said Kodachi. "Crazy in love!" She grabbed another pin and press what looked like a button on its neck, making spikes protrude from the body. She hurled it at Akane, hoping to hit her again, but Akane managed to dodge out of the way. Kodachi gave chase and the battle began in earnest.

Ranma ran after Kodachi to put a stop to the escalating fight, "Come back here! There's no way I'm gonna let you hurt Akane!" However, Ranma's senses alerted him that he was also in danger. He halted her pursuit and jumped back just as the older Kuno sibling seemingly dropped out of the sky in a ball of lightening, leaving a crater in Ranma's path. If he had continued after Kodachi, that could've easily been his head. Ranma narrowed his eyes, "Kuno..."

The would-be samurai smiled, "Let us leave them to their own devices. I have no doubt that Akane Tendo shall emerge victorious in this confrontation. For now, I shall be your opponent. And do not think this to be like our other encounters. I have been merciful up until now, but that time has passed. You have no idea of the depths of my power, Saotome. It's time that I showed you."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You mean that ability you got to toss around lightening? Gimme a break. You've tried that already."

Kuno blinked. "I have?"

Interesting. It looked as though Kuno forgot all about their battle in Arame's cave. "Yeah, and I managed to beat you anyway." Of course, Ranma exaggerated a little in regard to the outcome.

That deflated Kuno a bit. He didn't know if he should believe Ranma or not on whether he managed to defeat Kuno yet again, even with his new abilities. Just the fact that the pigtailed martial artist did know about the new powers meant he no longer had the element of surprise on his side. Kuno steeled himself and put all the distracting thoughts out of his head. "So, you already know of my new abilities. It matters not. All that matters in the end is the outcome of this encounter. For the sake of love...for the sake of my love, I must destroy you! En Gardé!"

----+----

"It looks like you were right to come out here to try and find Ranma and Akane," Autumn said, perched on the roof of a corner store watching the proceedings below.

Mousse, who sat beside her, shook his head. "I knew this was going to happen at some point. I didn't think it would happen this soon, though." He had figured the big blow-up would start by the hand of one of the Kuno siblings. But both at once? That was beyond even his expectations.

"Should we go down and help?"

"No. You're probably looking at the two proudest martial artists in town. They'd take it as an insult if we tried to help them now. Especially Ranma. Besides, it's just the Kunos." Mousse shrugged. "Even with Kuno's new power, it should be too much trouble for them to handle. We can step in to make sure no one gets seriously hurt, but for now, we can just sit and watch. I'm sure Ranma and Akane will make sure things don't get too out of hand, and will beat them soon enough."

"You sure have a lot of faith in them," Autumn said with a smile.

"Nah. I just know this because Ranma's done it to me so often."

"I see. Well, since we're just sitting here and watching for now," she rummaged through the depths of her sleeves and pulled out a steaming hot bag. "Like some popcorn?"

Mousse nearly facefaulted, "You keep hot popcorn in your robe?"

Autumn shrugged, "Yeah. Why not? Want some?"

"Sure, why not?" He grabbed a handful and popped one in his mouth. "Mmm, buttery."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	4. The Wrath of Heaven

A month.

It had almost been a month since he had found Ryouga Hibiki's home and yet, there was no trace of the man, himself. This was so stupid. Even an idiot such as he should be able to find his way back to his own house every once in a while. He had checked the Hibiki house every night since he first found it. No one ever entered, no one ever left.

So, there he was, so close to his revenge, yet still so far away. As this was his hometown, he began walking around, becoming familiar with where everything was located. It certainly looked like a nice enough town to live in. If he had to wait there for any length of time before he actually ran into Ryouga, it didn't look like he'd hate it too much. He just had to make sure not to make much noise overnight. The thought made him reflexively rub the spot where he was hit that night.

At any rate, knowing that fool, he was probably a few blocks away from his house and not even aware of it. He had chased Ryouga all over the world, just about. He knew from a few of the people he met along the way that Ryouga was trying to get to a certain city in Japan. Twice he chased him to Paris, Ryouga believing their Eiffel Tower was the Tokyo Tower. At least now, the lost boy seemed to have kept his journeys localized to the Japanese archipelago.

It was fun chasing Ryouga around the world for a while. He had gotten to see many amazing things and met many amazing people along the way. But it had grown tiresome and he felt like putting down roots in one town. Ryouga was sure to show up here sooner or later, so this town was as good a place as any. Two weeks into the time he surveilled Ryouga's place, he had gotten an apartment of his own. It was nice to have an actual bed to go to sleep in. Sure, he could rough it if he had to, no problem. But he missed the creature comforts modern living had to offer.

He could even dress the way he wanted to now as well. He had on a black three-piece suit minus the jacket, with a long sleeved white dress shirt and a black tie. He loved movies like The Transporter where the characters kicked ass and looked good doing it, so he emulated them. He carried a long black umbrella with what looked like a dagger's tip on the end. The handle was an intricately sculpted dragon's head, a very expensive piece of craftsmanship. While he was on Ryouga's trail, he had taken a few 'jobs' here and there, usually along the lines of corporate espionage. As such, he had made quite a bit of money and wasn't above splurging.

His outfit was made complete by the expensive pair of named brand sunglasses. He wanted to give himself an air of mystery along with the stylishness.

Looking around, he scoped the second attribute that made the town one he wanted to live in...all of the lovely girls only a couple of years younger than he in their various school uniforms. All work and no play would make him a very dull man. He hoped that during his time there, he'd make some very special friends. He grinned lecherously at the prospect, not noticing the object flying towards his head until it was too late.

-WHAM-

"What the..." Standing in front of him...at least he thought it was standing...was a person holding a sack nearly three times his size.

It turned and looked at him, flashing a grin so mischievous it made his spine tingle. "Sorry, sonny. Didn't see you there."

He picked himself up and dusted his suit off. "You should really be more careful. One day, you could cross the wrong person and they could seriously hurt you. Someone...like me for example."

The old troll looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. Another young pup that thought he could play with the big dogs hmm? "And who might you be?"

"I'm the person who's suit you ruined. Do you have any idea how much it's going to cost me to get it cleaned?"

"Oh, is that all? You can send your bill to the Tendo Dojo. They'll take care of it for ya!"

He frowned. "I don't think so. I'd rather take it out of your hide!" He swung his umbrella at the troll handle first. The handle began glowing bright yellow-orange as he did so. However, the old troll managed to dance around every one of his strikes. He brought down the handle for a clubbing blow on the diminutive old man, but he leapt out backwards, out of its range. A shallow crater sunk into the ground, quite a feat, as he was able to stop the swing before the handle touched the ground. "Feh, he's a lot quicker than I anticipated..."

The old man smiled at him. "Hey, you're not bad, junior. Not bad at all. I have a feeling you and I are going to see a lot more of each other in the future. For now, here's a token of my esteem." The troll dug into his sack and threw a smaller package at him. The newcomer grabbed the handle of his umbrella and used the sharp end to slice the package in two. However, that little diversion was all the little troll needed to make his escape.

"Humph, if so, then I'll get you next time." He knelt down and inspected the contents of the package, trying to find out more about his new...person of interest. "What the...women's underpants?"

"LOOK! GET HIM!" That was all the warning the newcomer got before he was attacked by a mob of indignant girls in various school uniforms.

"That ought to teach you!" said one of the girls.

"That's just what this town needs," said a second one, "another pervert." The girls grabbed the small collection of women's underthings and stalked away.

"I take back every nice thing I said about this town," the newcomer croaked. "What kind of crazy place have I wandered in to? And wouldn't you know it? I find out about stuff like this AFTER I agreed to a two year lease..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"The Wrath of Heaven"

-

Had he left Nerima yet?

Ryouga took a quick look around and thought he saw some familiar landmarks. That didn't help much. He's been nearly everywhere there is to go in Japan on foot, so just about any landmark he'd come across would look familiar. He hadn't run into anything he knew was specific to Nerima, though...no Nekohaten, no Furinkan High school, no Ucchan's Okonomiyaki (thankfully), and no Tendo Dojo (thankfully again).

About a block away from him was a shop called "After the Fall". He didn't recognize it, nor did he remember any shop with that name in Nerima. He was lost, as usual, but, at least, he appeared to have been out of Nerima now.

He sat down on a nearby bench and set his pack to the side. He didn't remember the last time his pack ever felt so heavy to him. Even his legs felt like they had two-ton weights tied to them. Ryouga leaned over and put his head in his hands. He was very tired. Not from his physical journey; he had made long treks before and always had energy afterwards. It was his life journey that had taken its toll on him. What in the world did he ever do so that was so horrible, the gods would punish him so severely?

Was that really all he was to everyone? Just a tool for them to use to get what they want, then to throw away when they were finished? Didn't one person in that damned town think of him as a human being?

The world was a cold and lonely place. How many times had he said that in a state of depression? Cold and lonely? Only on a good day. It was a cruel, hateful place filled with duplicitous, backstabbing jerks...who all deserved to be blasted to hell.

There was a twinge within Ryouga's being. Something tugged at his heart, as if to pull him down into some deep black pit where, once he had descended, he would never return. It felt like the Shi Shi Hakoden, but a lot worse, a lot more soul wrenching. The more the idea rolled around in his head, the stronger the tug got. Quickly, he put the idea out of his mind. Despite his grandstanding on numerous occasions, Ryouga wasn't the type to kill. Besides, killing them would mean he'd have to see them again...and he really didn't want to have to see them again.

With a shake of his head, he picked up his huge backpack, stood up, slung it over his shoulder and started walking. As he did, a strong odor permeated his senses. Across the street was one of the many bars the salarymen would stop off to after work to drink their woes away. Ryouga never was one for drinking. After all, as a martial artist, he needed to have his mind razor sharp to stay in control of himself and his incredible abilities. Besides which, drinking too much alcohol was bad for one's health.

After standing there, looking at the bar for a few moments, he crossed the street. No one else cared about his health. Why should he bother to?

----+----+----+----+----

With her hair flying happily in the wind, Shampoo rode her bike over to Furinkan High School. The days had been a lot brighter lately without Mousse's dark cloud hovering over her. Even though he was now a part of an enemy tribe, she still regarded him a friend...probably the best friend she ever had. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she actually missed having him around. She did wish him nothing but happiness in his future endeavors...after all, that would mean he'd leave her alone from now on.

Now, only Ukyou, Akane and that crazy girl were left as obstacles. With her having completed a delivery, she had a bit of free time before she was due back to the Nekohaten, so she thought she'd swing by Ranma's school to have a little quality time with him. A few moments like that, and she was sure Ranma would only have eyes for her. Besides, with the special dishes she had prepared for him there was no way he could resist. A way to a man's heart was through his stomach and that was particularly true with this man.

She made it to Furinkan and even though she just needed to veer right slightly to go through the opened gate, Shampoo plowed right through the wall, entering the school grounds. Just as she figured, it was their lunch period. All she had to do was find her future husband and they could have a nice, quiet (and hopefully romantic) meal together.

Among the large throng of students, she spotted a familiar looking light haired and dark haired pair of boys she recognized as Ranma's friends. If anyone knew where her beloved husband-to-be was, they would. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, yes?" went Daisuke. He and Hiroshi grinned like idiots upon her approach, always happy to see Shampoo, who was without a doubt the prettiest looking girl in town.

"Can you tell Shampoo where find Ranma?"

Daisuke answered without even thinking, "Oh, him? He's probably off somewhere smooching with Akane again." Hiroshi elbowed him hard in the abdomen. It was clear that she didn't know what was going on yet and the news could probably set her off. And since they were right there, chances were good they'd be her first targets.

Shampoo looked at him confused, "What you talking?"

Even after the elbow, Daisuke continued, "Oh yeah, it's the talk of the school now. Ranma and Akane have finally dropped the pretences and admitted they're in love with each other. About time, if you ask me. Though, Kuno, Ukyou and that Ryouga guy didn't like that too much and beat them up. They're probably off somewhere kissing their wounds, making them better..." Daisuke laughed to himself, thinking lecherous thoughts.

Shampoo stood there with her mouth agape, not believing what she was hearing. "No...it not true! It CAN'T be true!" She turned her bike around and pedaled furiously. Though she could've veered to the right again to go back through the first hole in the brick walled fence she made, she plowed through a second time.

"Geez, I wonder what's wrong with her?" Daisuke asked, watching her bike away.

Hiroshi glared at him, "You're an idiot. You know that, right?"

----+----+----+----+----

'This is just great', Akane thought to herself. 'I have an immunity to ki attacks. So who's the first person I fight after finding it out? A crazy girl with no ki attacks, but plenty of poisoned laced weapons.' She ducked out of the way of another spiked pin, the pin becoming embedded in a telephone pole.

Indeed, Akane's newfound advantage was negated by the fact that Kodachi didn't utilize her ki in any of her attacks. Kodachi's greatest strength is her trickery and mastery of the various weapons she uses in her particular art. The only way Akane could have any shot of beating Kodachi was if she could slip passed her defenses and attack her close up. It was difficult, however, with Kodachi's long-range weapons keeping her at bay.

Akane leapt out of the way as Kodachi through a ball at her. When the ball hit the ground, it exploded in a cloud of poisonous gas, knocking out some of the onlookers who happened to lurk around, watching. This was no good. There had to be a way to put her out of commission before she shrouds the entire town in a cloud of knockout gas or something just to get to her.

"OH-HOHOHOHOHO! There's little use in running, your wretched woman!" taunted Kodachi. "Your jumping about only delays the inevitable."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Akane.

"Joke all you wish. But it won't be long until you succumb to my toxins. And once you do, I will have you at my mercy!"

"Dream on! That's never going to happen!" As much as Akane hated to admit it and contrary to her bravado, it just may happen as Kodachi said. Even with her enhanced constitution, there was no way she'd be able to keep up that pace indefinitely. She would get tired and Kodachi would, indeed, have her unless she could come up with some way to get closer.

-Ching ching!-

'Oh no...'

There was a break in the action as Kodachi was distracted by the sound. She stopped and looked around for the source of the sound, as it was way too close for comfort. While she may not have known what it was, Akane knew all too well it source and she lamented its approach.

Without warning and as if out of nowhere, Shampoo, on her bike, dropped from out of the sky landing on top of Kodachi's head. Shampoo glared at Akane with a fire in her eyes never seen before. Akane hated to admit it, but for a split second, she was scared for her life looking in those eyes. Shampoo stood to her feet and let the bike fall. "Akane, I not let you take husband away from me! Shampoo kill you first!" She attacked Akane ferociously with a blinding series of punches and kicks. Akane was amazed she was able to dodge or block them all.

-POW-

...or most of them. Akane pulled herself out of the wall she found herself embedded in and wiped the trickle of blood from her lip. Shampoo was irate and it didn't look as though she would settle for using some amnesia inducing shampoo on her this time. Well, that suited Akane just fine. It was about time she showed that Chinese bimbo a thing or two. Not only that, but what better opponent to test out her new half-demon form? And at least she wouldn't have to worry about being kept outside of close fighting range by poisonous weapons.

Shampoo charged again, but this time, Akane met her charge, stride for stride. Shampoo feigned a kick, with Akane moved to block. Shampoo used the distraction to throw another punch at the youngest Tendo daughter's face. Seeing the attack coming, Akane tilted her head, allowing the fist to fly by. Using the Amazon's momentum against her, Akane grabbed the extended arm and yanked it as hard as she could, propelling Shampoo into the same wall she was pounded into moments before.

Akane looked at the Amazon warrior in awe. Either Shampoo was sloppy in that last attack, or she was faster than before. Either way, it felt go to have finally gotten one over on her. Shaking off the effects of the last blow, Shampoo stood to her feet and stared Akane down. She certainly was different than before. Akane was always confident in her skills...too confident, Shampoo always thought. Akane was always the easy one to beat in a fight. What could've happened? Well, whatever, it didn't matter. Shampoo wasn't about to lose. Ranma was going to be her husband, no matter what.

Rubbing the giant lump on her head and the tire marks on her face, Kodachi stood back up as well and caught sight of Akane and Shampoo. "Oh no you don't, you purple haired wench! Akane Tendo is MY prey!" She grabbed another ball and hurled it at her two rivals. They managed to leap out of the way before it landed and filled the air with more knockout gas.

Just as she landed from her jump, Akane was entangled by Kodachi ribbon. Her arms wrapped tightly in the fabric, there was no way for her to soften the blow as Kodachi slammed her into the pavement. Taking advantage of the opening, Shampoo got on top of her and reared her fist back. After this final blow, Kodachi would be no trouble to beat. She would then be two steps closer to having Ranma all to her self.

She tried to deliver the final blow, but she couldn't. Someone or something had her arm snagged. Shampoo looked up and found Autumn holding her back. Autumn gave Shampoo a nasty smile, "Two on one...just doesn't seem fair. Besides, if I recall, we have our own battle to continue."

"You get in Shampoo way, Shampoo kill you too!"

Mousse blinked. He looked to his side and sure enough, Autumn was no longer on her perch. He looked back down to the fight and sighed. Even though he had given up on his pursuit of Shampoo, he still couldn't help but feel bad for her. The news must've reached her ears that Ranma and Akane considered themselves an item now and was fighting in a futile battle to stop it. She had to realize that it couldn't be stopped now. Even if she did beat Akane the only thing that would do was garner Ranma's resentment.

If only she had chosen him while he pursued her. Then, she wouldn't be in this position now. But she brought this upon herself. Of course, Autumn didn't need to go down to make things worse. He wanted to go down there and do something, but he didn't know what. He still had feelings for Shampoo and wanted, deep in his heart, to go help her somehow. But he had no loyalties to her anymore. They weren't even part of the same tribe anymore. Not to mention the possible rift that would cause between he and Autumn.

He only had one, real choice and he took it. He sat back, grabbed another handful of popcorn and continued watching the sad show play out.

----+----

Ranma danced around Kuno's strikes with little effort. He was a little faster and a little stronger, to be sure. If he were like this when they first met, he might have been a serious challenger. As things stood now, though, even with Kuno's incredible attack, he was still a joke. Hmm...speaking of which, it looked as though he was ready to pull it out now. Ranma smiled. Kuno's trump card was an all or nothing play. Once he used it, he would be too tired to continue fighting. Who knew that when someone got stronger and more advanced attacks, they'd become easier to beat?

"I have always said that the vengeance of heaven was slow, but sure, Saotome, but no more!" exclaimed Kuno. Ranma slapped his forehead. That line again? "The heavens themselves have given me a gift in which to defeat you! Now, Saotome..."

"Geez, Kuno, do ya have to give a speech every time you pull off a move?" went Ranma. "Besides, you said all that stuff last time we fought."

Kuno raised an eyebrow, "I did? Did it strike fear into your black heart, as intended?"

"Nah. It was kind of a snoozer."

"I see," Kuno said, scratching his chin. "Very well. I shall work to provide more original pronouncements for the future at my earliest convenience. But back to the matter at hand, Saotome..." He launched himself into the sky with his bokken raised above his head, crackling with electricity. "Tremble with fear as you have bestowed upon you the WRATH OF HEAVEN!"

Ranma got out of the way just in time, as Kuno came back to earth in a thunderous fury. The force from his attack caused a large crater in the road beneath him and shattered the windows in all of the surrounding buildings. As the light dissipated and the smoke cleared away, Kuno was in the center of the devastation, down on one knee and breathing heavily.

"Still conscious, huh? You have gotten better," said Ranma. He grabbed the front of Kuno's shirt and lifted him up, punching him in the face, propelling him into a brick wall. "Well, that's that." He brushed his hands clean and started off to see how Akane was doing.

"Hold! This confrontation isn't over yet!"

Ranma turned around with his mouth agape. That should've been enough to put Kuno down at least three times. What was going on? Ranma cracked his knuckles and stalked over to the fallen kendoist. "I dunno how you managed to stay conscious through all that. But this time, I'm gonna put you down for sure."

Kuno was not in a good way. He was covered in rubble and was having trouble standing. How could this have happened? Even with his new power, he was still defeated by the accursed Ranma Saotome? No...he couldn't be defeated, not this time. If not for himself, he had to defeat the evil sorcerer for the sake of the virtuous Akane Tendo. But the knave managed to avoid his most powerful move and there was no way he would be able to do it again.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he would, indeed, be defeated. But if so, he wasn't going to make it easy on him. With Ranma nearly on top of him, he grabbed his bokken, took a swing at Ranma and shouted "CURSE YOU!" Amazingly, the bokken crackled to life again and shot a ball of lightening at Ranma, striking him in the chest and throwing him backwards into one of the many drinking establishments.

Kuno looked at his bokken in awe. "Amazing!" he said to himself. "Truly, even I know not the depths of my new power!" He jumped to his feet, reenergized, so to speak, and laughed manically, totally forgetting his injuries and fatigue. "I will not be so easily dispatched, Saotome! Prepare yourself!"

----+----

Sitting at the bar, Ryouga counted all of the empty shot glasses on the counter in front of him. "...Eight...nine...ten...eleven." In the time he had been there, he had down eleven of the strongest drinks the establishment had to offer. Except for the fact that his stomach was on fire, he felt numb. That was good, he felt. Numbness was a whole lot better than the pain he felt before. Now he understood why so many people drank themselves into a stupor. Even if it was temporary, it was good to not hurt so much.

"I would like another, please."

The barkeeper looked him over and shook his head. "I think you've had quite enough, sir."

"Well, I don't. I want another drink!"

"Listen buddy, why don't you go home and sleep it off first, huh?"

Ryouga's head dropped. He could feel some of the pain welling back up, "Home? Heh, I don't have a home. Can't remember the last time I've had a place to call 'home'. And I'll tell you why, too. Only people have homes. You have to be somebody before you can have someplace to call your home...with family or friends who'd be there to greet when you walk in the door after a hard day's work. Me...pfft. I'm a nobody. I'm just a tool for others to use, abuse and throw away at their leisure. Nobodies don't get homes. We can get drinks, though. And I want one right now." As he spoke, Ryouga could feel that tugging at his heart again. His ki shimmered in the subdued light of the bar, a deep red instead of its usual greenish hue. Having grown intimidated by Ryouga's display, the barkeeper thought it better to give him what he wanted.

Ryouga picked up his fresh glass of alcohol and looked at himself in the liquid's reflection. So this was it, huh? All of that training he did, all of that discipline, all that fighting...all for nothing. His one chance at happiness had been snatched away from him. Those he thought were his friends...weren't. Was there really any reason for him to keep going? He couldn't think of any.

There was a thunderous boom outside so violent that the bar's windows exploded. The other patrons inside began to panic. Even the barkeeper saw this and ran for his life. Ryouga, however, simply sat there staring into the reflection of his drink. He had given up. As far as he was concerned, he no longer had a life; he merely existed. Simply existing was no way to go through this world. One had to have a purpose; they had to have something that drove them. They had to have ambition, something to strive for. What did he have?

So, why even exist?

With a sad smile, he rose his glass to give a toast to the rest of his life, however brief it was going to be. All the while, his ki grew in intensity. He brought the glass to his lips to drink the last beverage he'd ever have and...

-CRASH!-

-THUD-

Ryouga opened his eyes and found his drink had spilled all over the floor in front of him. "Wha in the world happened?" he wondered with a slight slur.

"Ugh...geez, where in the world did THAT come from?" went a familiar voice above him. Ryouga looked up and saw a familiar looking man brushing himself off. His clothes were torn along the edges and his pigtailed hair was frazzled, like he just took a jolt of electricity.

Wait. Pigtail?

"Ranma..."

Ranma looked down and saw he was sitting on his longtime rival. "Ryouga? Hey, fancy meetin' you here. Geez, man, you don't look too good."

Something snapped. Ryouga's shimmering ki roared ferociously to life at the appearance of the man who ruined his life so many times in the past. "Raaaanma..." his voice was so bestial, he didn't even sound the same. "CAN'T I EVEN SELF DESTRUCT WITHOUT YOU GETTING IN MY WAY?"

Ryouga literally erupted, his energy expanding exponentially, completely obliterating the bar and the two buildings next to it on either side. Ranma stumbled out of the large column of smoke and debris and collapsed on the road in front of where the bar used to be, coughing violently.

"What the hell was that?" Ranma wondered. "No way that could've been his shi shi houkoden attack...even for him, it was way too powerful!"

"There you are, Saotome!" said Kuno, charging down an adjoining block. "You shan't escape me this time!"

"KUNO! STAY BACK!" Ranma warned.

Just then, another intense pulse of energy emanated from the smoke, slamming Ranma and Kuno into one of the surviving buildings. After which, Ryouga, unscathed from his blow up, appeared, his ki still dancing wildly about him. An old saying goes that the eyes were a window into one's soul. Ryouga's eyes were empty; completely devoid of the sparkle of life. It seemed within that void, he found his ultimate power source. But the price looked to be very high. Despite the incredible energy he seemed to command at the moment, he looked as though it took all of his strength just to stay upright.

Ryouga slowly lifted his head and leveled his dead eyes at Ranma. "I've grown weary of this dance. I think it's time we finally put an end to this."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+---- 


	5. Lost

Shampoo was sure taking her sweet time coming back from her delivery. That girl; she must've taken a detour to see Ranma while she was out. That girl just lost all sense of duty when it came to him. Cologne couldn't fault her for that, though. As she said herself a few times, if she were a little younger, she'd snatch up Ranma for herself. Ranma was a remarkable young man, after all. Sure he was rough around the edges, but he was strong. With a little molding, he could've been a fine addition to their Amazon tribe.

Of course, he wasn't just strong physically. He had a very strong will too. While admirable on the field of battle, that particular trait would prove bothersome when it came time to do the molding. The boy was quite stubborn and wouldn't come to them willingly. Truth be told, Mousse was plenty strong and would've made a fine husband for Shampoo as well. It would've made things a lot easier also, as he was already an Amazon; already assimilated into their matriarchal society. Mousse was so devoted to her, Cologne couldn't fathom why Shampoo didn't choose him.

In the end, Shampoo made her choice and all Cologne could do was assist Shampoo in her goals and enforce Amazon law.

Of course, Shampoo being out with son-in-law meant that Cologne had to manage the restaurant herself. She was more than capable of doing so but the help did make things easier. Not only that, but Shampoo's presence always drew in customers. Without her, business was always slow, as it was at the moment. After putting the garnish on a dish as a finishing touch, she hopped on her staff out to the main dining room to deliver the order. Inexplicably, Cologne fell off her staff, dropping the order. The customers all rushed over to see how she was doing. She had to admit, the people of that town were all very helpful and friendly.

She lay there on the ground, trembling. For the first time since she moved to Nerima, she was afraid. How she envied the helpful and friendly citizens that hovered around her. They had no idea of the danger that threatened their lives. Regaining her composure, she let everyone know she was all right and she cleaned up the mess she made.

With all that Cologne had faced in her life, with all she had seen, she didn't think there was anything in this world that could make her afraid like that anymore. Being there, she was amazed and a little concerned at how quickly the kids had advanced in the art. Still, she always figured it would take a few decades before they learned anything of any real consequence. She should've known by now that she should never underestimate any one of them.

Ryouga...the shi shi hakouden attack was particularly dangerous. But he only had a surface knowledge of how to use it. He did have the means to make it very powerful with how depressed he was most of the time, but Cologne didn't think even he could transcend its limits and push himself to the next level. He must've gone through something extremely traumatic recently. Whatever the case, he had to be stopped.

"Mousse!" she called. She sighed, forgetting that quickly that Mousse was no longer with her. She'd never tell anyone, but she missed having him around. How could Shampoo allow him to get away like that?

She couldn't afford another series of introspections. Danger was afoot and she had to do what she could to avert a major catastrophe. "Okay everyone! I'm sorry to have to do this, but the Nekohaten is closed. Please come back later."

With groans of disappointments, the crowd began to file out of the restaurant. Cologne only hoped there would be a later so they could come back.

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Lost" –Part one

-

Autumn stood with her back to the wall, clutching her ribs. As much as she hated to admit it, Shampoo was a lot stronger than she gave her credit for. Shampoo was fighting angry. Usually, anger would cloud the mind and make one's moves sloppier than usual, but as far as she could tell, the purple haired Amazon's techniques were nearly flawless. Shampoo had received remarkable training.

Standing beside Autumn was Akane, who was panting heavily. It seemed she was having no luck with Kodachi either. For one with her strength, it should be nothing to take care of the gymnast, but Autumn had been studying Kodachi's techniques as well. Though unorthodox, they were quite sound. Even with Akane's enhanced form, there was no way she would be able to counter the poisons that Kodachi was launching at her. And that ribbon...Autumn didn't know if she saw correctly, but she could've sworn she saw Kodachi slice a car in half with it.

All in all, it was quite the laughable situation she put herself in. That being the case, she laughed. Akane looked at her like she had lost her mind. "And what in the world is so funny?" Akane asked.

"You don't think this is funny?" returned Autumn. "First of all, a half-demon and a demon slayer fighting on the same side...AGAIN? And not long after a fierce battle where we beat a powerful demon and her minions, we're being beaten by a pair of normal humans?"

Akane shook her head, "Shampoo and Kodachi may be many things, but trust me, normal ISN'T one of them. Besides, I know for a fact that you're capable of a lot more than what you've been doing. If you're going to beat Shampoo, you're going to have to stop holding back."

"I can't use my more powerful moves on other humans. It's forbidden. Heh, that was how Mousse was able to beat me..."

"Like I said, if you don't do something, she's going to beat you too."

Autumn thought about it for a moment. The sight of Shampoo closing in on her with murder in her eyes worked wonders in helping to change her mind. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt in this case. After all, I doubt my teachers would want me to lose in a duel to someone from an enemy tribe." She smiled.

Akane smiled as well, "I don't think they would either. Now, if only I can do something about Kodachi's attacks..."

Autumn reached into her robe and pulled out a mask. "Here. Long ago, slayers wore masks like this whenever they went to hunt demons. Some used poison gasses to prey on humans, or to escape from danger. This will protect you, no matter how potent the toxins are...I think."

"You think?"

"Never tried them before," Autumn said with a shrug. Flaring her ki to life, she charged Shampoo again, leaving Akane to Kodachi.

Seeing her opponent charge, Shampoo dropped into her fighting stance again, "You come to Shampoo now, hmm? Good. That make Shampoo job easier." Autumn threw a chain at her to ensnare her arms. However, Shampoo caught the chain in mid air and yanked it, causing Autumn to fly forward faster than she wanted to. Once in range, Shampoo attempted a backhanded fist to put her down for the count. Autumn was able to get back in control of herself just in time to duck the punch and counter with a ki charged open palm strike on Shampoo's stomach, propelling the purple haired Amazon back into a parked pick up truck.

That would've been the perfect time for one of her special attacks, but even though she said she wasn't going to hold back anymore, there was still apart of her that felt it would've been a rather cheep victory to have to use such techniques. It would be much more satisfying if she were to defeat Shampoo with her skills alone. She went up to the fallen Amazon and grabbed a handful of her plentiful hair. One more blow was all it would take and it would've been over.

Unfortunately, the time it took for her to make her way over to Shampoo was enough time for her to reorient herself. When Autumn grabbed her hair, Shampoo elbowed Autumn hard in her bruised ribs. Autumn stumbled back, allowing Shampoo to get to her feet, and they stared each other down, trying hard to get the wind back into themselves.

Meanwhile, Kodachi was throwing more of her poisoned tipped spiked pins at Akane. Akane did her best to dodge the seemingly endless barrage of pins, but soon found herself backed against the wall again. With that trademark maniacal laugh of hers, Kodachi threw another exploding ball. It landed at Akane's feet and blew up in a plume of noxious gas. Kodachi's grin grew wider, knowing there was no escape for the wretched Tendo girl this time. With her down for the count, all she had to do was defeat the purple haired harlot and Ranma was as good as hers.

Sure victory was with her, Kodachi let her guard down, which allowed Akane to shoot out of the smoke and land a kick on the crazed gymnast's jaw, knocking her down to the ground. Kodachi looked up, rubbing her sore jaw, and saw Akane wearing the mask Autumn gave to her. "You wench! No fair using masks like that!"

"No fair?" went Akane. "You're one to talk with all those stupid weapons you use."

"Do not insult me! I have never once cheated in a duel! I, as a noble member of the Kuno family, am far above using such petty, dishonest tactics. Everything I've done is within the rules of good conduct."

"In whatever fantasy world you live in, maybe!" Akane shot back. "It doesn't matter now, though. This fight's over!" Akane moved in for the final strike. As she did, there was a thunderous explosion and a bright flash of light. Akane halted her attack, concerned as to what the ominous signs may have pertained.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" -CRASH!-

A very battered Kuno had flown over the building they were fighting in front of and crashed on the sidewalk between his love and his sister. He stood up and laughed in defiance, "You shant dispose of Tatewaki Kuno so easily! MUAHAHAHAHAA! ...ha..." He fell to the ground again.

"Well, it seems my darling Ranma has bested my brother in battle," said Kodachi. "And once I defeat you, Ranma shall be all mine!"

"Dream on!" spat Akane. There was another explosion and flash of light.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" -CRASH!-

Ranma, who was in the same condition as Kuno, landed behind Akane, being delivered there in much the same way. Immediately, Akane, Kodachi and Shampoo broke off their engagements to check on their fiancée in common. Akane, being the closest, knelt down next to him and helped him sit up. "Ranma! Are you okay?"

"Darling!"

"Aiya! What happen?"

Ranma struggled to his feet on his own accord. "We got trouble, Akane...big trouble!" Right on cue, Ryouga slowly drug himself from around one of the adjoining buildings.

Akane's eyes widened, "Ryouga?" The lost boy was an absolute mess. His hair was wildly unkempt and the bags under his eyes were so big, he looked as though he could pack the entire town in them. With his drooping head and shoulders and the way he swayed when he walked, he looked every bit the drunkard he was at the moment. The really scary part, though, were the tendrils of energy angrily whipping about his form. Without even thinking, Akane grabbed onto Ranma's arm and pulled him close.

Ryouga took a good look at everyone gathered. Almost all of the clowns of the Nerima circus was gathered. There was even a newcomer that was a part of the fray...probably another fiancée of Ranma's come out of the woodwork. And of course, right in the middle of it all was the man himself, along with Akane. Akane...the love of Ryouga's life; the woman he devoted so much of his energy on to win over. The woman who, at the moment, was holding close his greatest rival, reminding him how much it was all for naught. He closed his eyes and the reddish tinted aura that blazed around him grew larger. The sight of the two of them together like that sunk the dagger he already felt in his heart even deeper.

He laughed bitterly, "Why? All the times I've wanted to find you, I've never been able to. I've always gotten myself lost instead. So why is it that now, when I do want to get lost, I run into you? WHYYYYYY?" He lifted his head and yelled with all of his might, as if venting his rage towards the heavens. If the heavens paid any mind to him or not wasn't clear. The earth, however was paying close attention, as it began to shake from the furious energy he was putting out.

"By the gods," said Kuno, who, even in the bad shape he was in, couldn't stay unconscious through what was happening. "What manner of creature is this you summoned, Saotome?"

"Not now," said Ranma. "This ain't the time."

Autumn trembled at the sight of him. Arame, as powerful as she was, even she didn't emit that much dark power. There was no way he could be anything but a demon. The danger he posed was too great for her to sit by and do nothing. She pulled out a spirit ward from her sleeve and threw it at him. Once it was stuck on his head, he would be unable to move...unable to defend himself. With someone that powerful, it wouldn't make sense to hit him with anything other than her strongest move. "LUNAR RAVE!" Her ki, which quickly resembled the head of a wolf, enveloped her as she charged in, striking Ryouga dead center in his chest. The two energies clashing violently caused a powerful explosion, completely demolishing the buildings that immediately surrounded them and threw the onlookers back with its incredible concussive force.

When the smoke and light cleared, Autumn stood with a huge smile on her face. She was sure that she had finally done away with a powerful demon. She didn't have a direct hand in Arame's defeat, so this would finally count as her first. The smile faded when she saw Ryouga standing before her, unfazed. He took the ward off of his forehead and studied it for a second. Finally he balled the piece of paper in his fist and used it to backhand Autumn across her face. She crashed through one of the wall of one of the surviving buildings, went through its first level and crashed out the other side of it, coming to a rest in the middle of the street on a different block.

Ranma's jaw dropped. There was no way this was the Ryouga he knew. Ryouga was softer when it came to girls than even he was. If this was how low he had sunk, he had to be stopped, no matter what. Ranma still couldn't get passed his rival's eyes. It was as if he had completely given up on life and was dead on the inside already. Ranma figured Ryouga would be upset over finding out about he and Akane, but he didn't think the lost boy would get messed up THIS bad. And with his power fueled by his unhappiness...it was all the more reason for Ranma to stop him. The pigtailed martial artist charged, using his chestnut fist attack.

Ryouga didn't know what was happening to him. Perhaps it was the excess of alcohol in his system, but his vision was crystal clear, as if a veil he had been wearing all of his life was suddenly removed. He could see every one of Ranma's punches coming and he was able to avoid most of them. The fang-toothed martial artist thought some did manage to tag him, but the feel of them felt so faint, he couldn't be sure. If he was getting through and the hits stung so little, then he must be holding back. That Ranma...so sure of his superiority over everyone else, he could never bring himself to fight full strength. If this was going to be his final battle, Ryouga had to make sure Ranma gave it his all. If nothing else, Ryouga respected him as a martial artist and wanted to afford him that dignity at least.

Ryouga allowed himself to be punched in the gut. He grabbed Ranma's wrist and drew his pigtailed rival in, grabbing a fist full of his hair and slamming him face first into the already cracked pavement beneath them. He, then, hoisted Ranma up by the back of his shirt, slapped him across his face and threw him out into the middle of the street. "That should wake him up," Ryouga said to himself. "He should take this fight more seriously now."

"NO! RANMA, DARLING!"

"RANMA!"

The girls, the girls, the stupid girls; Shampoo and Kodachi, part of Ranma's little harem. They always stood behind him, always jumped when he wanted them too, always doing this and that, always for him. But not one of them could do the one thing Ryouga wanted them to. They couldn't win Ranma's heart, leaving Akane free for him to tell her how he felt without Ranma's interference. The stupid girls, what good were they?

Shampoo and Kodachi didn't even see when Ryouga moved. One moment he was at the other end of the block staring at them, the next moment, he stood in between them. With only a slight snarling curl of his lips, Ryouga elbowed Kodachi in the stomach and struck Shampoo in the same area with a front kick. That should shut them up for a little while.

"Damnable creature! You dare to attack one of the noble Kuno lineage? Have at thee!" With his bokken extended in front of him, Kuno attacked. Ryouga merely took a step back, leaving his foot in front of him, tripping Kuno up during his approach. With Kuno still in mid air, Ryouga punted him back into space. The moron was never really a threat in a fight or to win over Akane, so he didn't get much effort put into him.

Apparently, though, Kuno did serve as a decent distraction. Kodachi threw one of her exploding balls at him, enveloping him in the venomous fumes. With Ryouga staggered by the poison, Kodachi followed up by wrapping him up in her ribbon and yanking him into the air and slamming him head first into the pavement. She yanked him into the air again and with his arms bound by the ribbon, he couldn't defend as struck with a jump kick. Ryouga landed face down in a pile of rubble that at one time was a flower shop. As he tried to stand upright again, the two girls stood over him.

"This should teach you a valuable lesson, you Neanderthal," went Kodachi.

Shampoo nodded. "Man what treat woman badly go very bad place."

Ryouga laughed. "Oh, I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be going to that 'very bad place'. I'm just making sure you'll all be making the trip with me." With a swipe of his hand, one of the tendrils of energy that surrounded him lashed out like a whip, striking both girls in their chests in one shot, knocking them out into the street as well, unconscious.

He rose to his feet and gazed at his handiwork; not just at the gathering of martial artists prone at his feet, but at the surrounding populace, some staring at the battle in horror, others trying to help some of the unlucky ones who suffered injuries from the explosions and debris. Did those people out there with the little cuts and bruises really think they were suffering? What they were going through paled in comparison to what he had to endure. Ryouga could teach them a thing or two about real suffering.

Speaking of which, his gaze landed on one of the major causes. The one person in the whole town he thought could bring him true happiness...the person that could hurt him...DID hurt him more than any of the others could..."Akane..."

Instinctively, Akane took a step back. And she thought she had become a monster. What in the world could've happened to have Ryouga snap like this? Could even a demon survive such raw, untamed power and fury? "R-Ryouga! Why are you doing this? What's happened to you?"

Slowly, Ryouga stalked up to her, piercing her to the core with those soulless eyes of his. "I'm simply tired, Akane. Tired of being everyone's tool to use and throw away. Tired of always being second best. Tired of being alone."

"But you're not alone! You've been surrounded by friends this whole time!"

Ryouga laughed again. "Friends? I have no friends. That was made perfectly clear to me earlier today. I'm just ready for everything to be over and done with now. But not before I return a few favors. It's been said that a candle flickers brightest and most violently just before it goes out. I guess I'm flickering pretty brightly." He raised his fist, "Now, for the violent part..."

Akane closed her eyes and prepared herself for the worst, but it never came. When she opened her eyes again, she found Ranma standing in between them, his own ki ablaze and Ryouga's fist caught in his grip. With his free hand, Ranma got Ryouga in the jaw with an uppercut, which laid the bandanna clad martial artist out. "Ranma!" Without taking his eyes off his rival, Ranma gave her shoulder a push, hoping she'd get the message he wanted her to move out of the way.

"You weren't REALLY gonna hit Akane just now, were you?" Ranma growled.

Ryouga sat up and rubbed his chin. He felt the hit that time. He stood up and favored the pigtailed martial artist with an empty smile. "Looks like you're finally ready to take this seriously, Saotome. Come on. Let's make this a fight no one will ever forget!"

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	6. Lost P2

Desperately, Mousse searched through the mounting rubble, trying to find his fiancée. How in the world could he have done such a thing? In his experience, Ryouga was never this harsh when it came to girls.

"Autumn! Autumn, where are you?" He knew he should've jumped in himself when he noticed Autumn had gotten herself involved in the battle. As powerful as she was, he didn't think he had reason to worry. But Ryouga seemed to be on a whole other level. Even though he was blocks away from where the action was taking place, he could feel the heaviness of Ryouga's ki. And it didn't look as though he held much back when he hit her. Mousse would never forgive himself if she were seriously injured. More than that, he'd never forgive Ryouga.

"AUTUMN!" He came upon her, lying face down among broken pieces of wood and brick from the various walls she crashed through. He knelt down and gently rolled her over, cradling her head in his hand. "Autumn, speak to me!"

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Hey," she croaked.

Mousse let out a sigh of relief finding her still alive. "Are you okay? Nothing's broken, is it?"

"I don't think so," she said. "Did I get in a fight with a freight train or something?"

"Something." Gently, he set her head back on the ground and stood up. "You stay here and take it easy. I'm going to make him pay for what he did to you."

"You'll do no such thing," a familiar voice said.

Mousse looked behind him, instantly recognizing the voice of the matriarch of his former tribe. "Elder?"

Cologne walked over to Autumn's prone form and put her wrinkled hand on the younger girl's forehead, checking her ki. She nodded and turned her attention back to Mousse. "The girl isn't too badly injured. Given time, she'll make a full recovery. Instead of rushing headlong into battle, you should remain at her side."

"I can't just sit here and let Ryouga get away with what he did to her!"

She didn't doubt what her senses told her before, but hearing Ryouga's name for herself just brought her fear to bear. Normally, she'd whack him over the head for his insubordinate behavior, but instead, she nudged him towards Autumn with her staff. "Your place is by her side. I would suggest you taking her someplace safe, but right now, no place in town is safe."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Lost" –Part two

-

Battles between martial artists were a very common occurrence in Nerima. It got to the point when one broke out in the middle of town, people would simply walk around it and go about their business, paying it no mind. Even these battle-hardened citizens could sense there was something different about the battle that took place before them. While they did keep their distance and tended to the injured or poisoned, they couldn't help but watch.

None recognized the passage of time as the day that started out so bright for so many ended, bringing on what would probably be the longest night any of them ever had to live through. Nor did anyone notice the gathering clouds overhead. Everyone was transfixed by the amazing dance that took place before them.

They knew the players well; one Ranma Saotome, with a lineup of enemies nearly a mile long and a lineup of potential wives just as long. And then, there was Ryouga Hibiki, the perpetually lost boy who had a penchant for talking to himself, extreme shyness towards girls and the odd habit of hugging telephone poles so tightly, they'd break. These two had done this particular dance before; indeed, they paired off more frequently than any of the other martial artists in town. This time, however, their dance was turned up to an unimaginable level. They had already leveled three city blocks and were working on a fourth. Never before had they wrought so much damage by themselves.

This time, the dance had a very deadly intensity. Sure, there were usually shouts in mid battle about one wanting to kill the other, but it never appeared as though either actually wanted to do so. This time, it appeared their battle wouldn't end until one or even both perished. Both boys visibly glowed as they fought, adding even more destructive power behind each of their blows. Ryouga's in particular seemed most troubling, as with every hit he took, it seemed his grew more intense.

Ryouga was stunned momentarily by a kick to the face. Using the distraction to his advantage, Ranma went around back and pinned his rival's arms behind him. "What in the world do you think you're doin'?" went Ranma, trying to get into Ryouga's head. "You almost hit Akane! AKANE! Are you out of your mind?"

"Why yes, I do believe I'm quite insane at the moment," answered Ryouga with a laugh.

"I don't get you. You've always said you loved her and always would. What coulda set you off so bad that you'd attack her?"

"Let's just say I've had my eyes opened and was forced to see things as they were." He broke free of Ranma's hold and elbowed him in the midsection, causing Ranma to stumble backwards. "As you can tell, that experience made quite the impression."

"Cough W-whatever it was you looked at couldn't have been THAT bad..."

"Feh...I was a fool to think Akane could ever return my feelings, even if I did manage to tell her. I'm just a tool, after all. One doesn't fall in love with a tool. You simply use them and throw them away when you're done with them. And you don't care how you treat your tools since they're just unfeeling THINGS right?" Ranma was growing more and more concerned with the situation. All of that stuff he was rambling about...he really was teetering on insanity.

"Sorry man," said Ranma. "I hate to have to do this to ya the way you are right now, but there's no tellin' what you can do in the state of mind you're in!" Before Ryouga could react, Ranma landed another kick to his head. When Ryouga stumbled back, Ranma followed with the chestnut fist to his abdomen. Much to Ranma's surprise, however, Ryouga caught his fist in mid strike. With his free hand, Ryouga grabbed Ranma by the front of his shirt and head butted him.

"And then there's you," Ryouga continued. "You, who's had everything handed to you on a silver platter while I had to struggle for every little scrap I've ever gotten." Ryouga head butted him again. "You, who inflicted me with this damned Jusenkyou curse." Ryouga head butted him a third time. "You, who's tormented me from junior high, kicking me down and laughing at my suffering."

Ranma tried to look at him, but he was finding it hard to gaze passed the stars he was seeing. "What, is this the part where you say you've seen hell because of me?"

Ryouga let go of his hand and grabbed his neck, lifting the pigtailed martial artist up by it. Ranma grabbed his hand, trying to get the lost boy to let go before he passed out from lack of oxygen. "Hell? You've taken me to places even the inhabitants of hell fear to tread." He punched Ranma in the stomach, knocking what little wind he had left out of him. "You can ask them yourself when you meet them."

-WHUD!-

Ranma dropped to his knees, gasping for air, as Ryouga was clubbed in the back of his head. Ryouga rubbed the part of his head that was struck and turned around, finding Akane standing behind him, a look of regret on her face. "I don't want to do this," she said. "I don't know what could've happened to you to make you do this, but I won't let you do hurt Ranma!"

Ryouga stared at her with his lifeless eyes. She was so caring, so devoted; it was no wonder he fell in love with her so easily. How he wished things had turned out differently. Akane noticed his lower lip trembled slightly. It was the first chink in the emotionless mask he had displayed since he started this rampage. She thought perhaps if she could keep talking to him, she could talk some sense into him and put an end to this before anyone really got hurt. However, before she could get another word out, Ryouga slapped her hard across her face, knocking her to the ground.

OH.

HELL.

NO!

With a snarl, Ranma pushed himself to his feet. Grabbing the out of control martial artist by the arm, he spun Ryouga around and landed a roundhouse kick to his face, propelling him head first into the wall of a deli. Pressing the attack, Ranma charged up his hands and used the modified chestnut fist, relentlessly pounding Ryouga with a barrage of ki blasts until the wall he was pinned against gave way. Ranma didn't stop his attack, however, until the entire building collapsed on top of the lost boy. It took a little while, but they finally managed to completely destroy block number four.

Before the smoke cleared, Ryouga used his ki to incinerate the rubble piled on top of him. No sooner than he made his escape, Ranma was right on top of him again, punching him in the stomach, doubling Ryouga over and finishing with an uppercut that landed dead on Ryouga's nose, sending him flying back out of the newly formed pile of rubble and back onto the street.

Ryouga propped himself up on his elbows and coughed, having difficulty catching his breath. "You stepped way over the line this time, buddy!" said Ranma through bared teeth. He hoisted Ryouga up by his collar to look him in the eye. "You of all people should know better than to lay a hand on Akane. I'm gonna make sure you pay dearly for that!"

Breaking Ranma's hold, Ryouga took a swing for his rival's face. Ranma ducked the attack and struck back, tagging him in the stomach. When Ryouga doubled over from the punch, Ranma caught him in the face with his knee, laying the martial artist in the psychotic rage out once again. Ryouga turned over, coughing once and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Grabbing the lost boy by the back of the head, Ranma slammed him face first into the concrete. He, then, hauled him up by the back of his bandana and turned the lost boy around. His eyes were glazed over and he looked as if he would pass out at any moment. Ranma reared his fist back, "This fight's over."

Just then, the clouds that had been gathering overhead had opened up. Ranma's look of fury was replaced by one of disbelief at the predictably horrible timing of the Neriman weather patterns, as the pouring rain transformed him into his smaller, weaker form.

Ryouga's expressionless form broke again as a smirk slipped across his lips. "Looks like luck is against you for once, Saotome." Before the newly formed girl could make a retort, Ryouga lashed out with an uppercut, snapping Ranma's head back and causing her to fall backwards, rolling to a stop only a few feet away.

Ranma rubbed her sore jaw and cursed under her breath. 'What gives?' Ranma thought to herself. 'That hit felt stronger than when we started. True, I'm not as strong in this form as before, but there's no way he should still be this strong after all the punishment he's taken. And why the hell didn't HE change?'

His hair and the tendrils of energy whipped in the rain soaked wind as Ryouga slowly stalked over to his longtime foe. The fight was everything he knew it would be, but the time had come to end things. He was tired and his eternal rest awaited him. One more blow and it would all be over.

"You scoundrel!"

Ryouga let out a long, fatigued sigh as he turned his attention to Kuno, who had returned to the field of battle. "You again? Didn't I take care of you already?"

"It will take more than the likes of you to dispatch Tatewaki Kuno." He leveled his bokken at Ryouga, "Besides which, it would seem you need to be taught a lesson on how to properly treat women!" He turned his attention to Ranma, "I offer you my sincerest apologies for not being here earlier to defend you, my sweet pigtailed girl. But worry not! As I live and breathe, no more harm shall befall you!"

"You get him, Kuno!" Ranma shouted with fake exuberance. She had to admit, though, she never thought she'd ever be glad to see him.

Ryouga shook his head, "That was pathetic, even for you." He turned his attention back to Kuno, "And as for you, this time when I put you down, STAY DOWN!" Ryouga launched himself at Kuno.

Kuno reared his bokken back and focused his energies. He couldn't perform the Wrath of Heaven move just yet, not with the pigtailed girl so close by. She could get hurt. Fortunately, as he found out not too long ago, that wasn't the only move at his disposal. But he only did it one time before and that was by accident. He hoped he would be able to duplicate the feat. Once Ryouga was in range, he thrust his bokken forward and shouted, "CURSE YOU!" As before, a ball of electricity shot fourth. Ryouga was caught off guard from the attack. Being too close to dodge, it hit him square in the chest, knocking him back into an attorney's office.

Ryouga sat up, brushed some of the fallen bricks off and tried to shake off the effects of the attack. "Well…that was new…"

"And that was merely a taste of what you have in store!" said Kuno as he rushed to follow up his attack. "Prepare yourself!"

----+---- 

Ranma watched as Ryouga and Kuno fought their way down to the fifth block destined to be demolished in this prolonged battle. Kuno may have had some new, impressive moves, but there was no way he would be able to take on Ryouga for long. Ranma had to find a way to stop Ryouga. "I still don't understand, though," Ranma said to herself. "Why didn't the rain affect him?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Ranma turned around, recognizing the voice, "Old woman!"

Cologne walked next to her and Ranma sat up. "It's Ryouga's ki. It's burning so hot that the rain is evaporating before it can reach his skin."

Something clicked in Ranma's brain. "Hot ki, huh? It's so simple! That's how I can beat him!" She stood up to put her idea into motion.

-BONK-

Ranma fell back down, "HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Cologne removed the business end of her staff from Ranma's head and leered at her, "I think I'm stopping you from doing something stupid. I know you're thinking about using the Dragon Blast on him, but it's not going to work...unless killing us all is part of your little plan."

Shampoo and Autumn walked up behind Cologne, along with Mousse, who had Akane leaning upon him. "Akane! Are you all right?" Ranma asked.

Akane nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"She's fortunate Ryouga held back with her," Cologne said. "Otherwise, it would've just been her head that flew back like that. Of course, if you had gone ahead with your fool-hearty attack, she WOULD be dead now...along with the rest of us."

"What ARE you talking about?" wondered Ranma.

"That's what I would like to know," added Mousse. "I wanted a crack at Ryouga too."

"Son-in-Law, aren't you even the slightest bit curious about that energy that has enveloped him?" Cologne asked.

"C'mon, do you think this is my first time fighting with that pig-headed jerk?" went Ranma. "I know all about that Shi Shi Houkodan attack of his. I was the first one he used it on."

Cologne shook her head. "My boy, you have absolutely no idea what you're facing. You know, initially, I was very impressed at how you kids were able to learn new martial art techniques and even improve them. But I must admit I've been shortsighted. I should've seen this eventuality."

Ranma scratched her head, "Okay, you're losin' me here..."

"The fact of the matter is Ryouga has moved far beyond the simple Shi Shi Houkodan. Originally, the Roaring Lion's Bullet was the precursor to a technique far more powerful. By itself, the Roaring Lion's Bullet is a desperation move, where the user would summon it in battle when the despair of losing set in. Feeling that despair from the thought of failing who or whatever it was you were fighting for would have spurred the user to make that one last surprise attack, hopefully pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. Ryouga's normally depressed demeanor gave him the ability to use the Roaring Lion's Bullet almost at will, which was why it seemed a perfect fit for him.

"However, the Shi Shi Houkodan lead to a much more dangerous technique. So much so, that it was forbidden from ever being taught or learned. Unfortunately, there have been some, much like Ryouga here, who had the natural 'talent' to stumble onto it by accident. The Roaring Lion's Bullet depends on despair and desperation for one who wishes to remain alive. But when that despair delves into that dark place where a person has simply given up and feels as though they have nothing left to live for, it becomes the Soul Cry.

"Pain fuels the Soul Cry. Emotional, physical, it makes no difference. As the energy builds, the user becomes much stronger and faster than they are usually."

"So that's why Ryouga seemed to be getting stronger," mused Ranma.

Cologne nodded, "Now you're getting it."

"But why can't I use the Dragon's Blast of Heaven on him? With all that energy he's putting out, it should stop him but good."

"Yeah," said Mousse. "And wipe us out in the process. The tornado you would create from him would be bigger than any you've ever created before. It'd make the destruction you've caused so far look like nothing."

"It's more than that," Cologne interjected. "Ryouga's training has allowed him to use a tremendous amount of ki. That's the reason he's been able to go as long as he has and that has been our greatest ally so far. However, that's also our greatest enemy. Even Ryouga has his limits. And when he reaches his limits, he will do what every user of the Soul Cry eventually does. He'll pop."

Akane gasped, "Pop?"

"Putting it bluntly, Ryouga's a walking suicide bomb. And with as much power as he's gathering, when he goes, he WILL take all of Nerima with him. Possibly most of Tokyo as well." That caused everyone's jaw to drop. "And just imagine if you hit THAT with the Dragon's Blast."

"Okay, I get your point," said Ranma. "But what can we do to stop him?"

"Our best option," Cologne started, "would be to break him out of the deep depression he's in."

"I don't know if we can," went Akane. "I tried to and it looked like I got close, but I wasn't able to reach him."

"Ryouga thinks the world of Akane," Ranma stated. "If she couldn't reach him, that means he probably can't be reached."

"Then there's only one option left to us." Cologne paused.

"What? What is it?" asked Ranma.

She favored Ranma with the most withering gaze she'd ever seen. "Ryouga must die."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	7. Lost P3

Ukyou sat in her bed, rolled in a ball unable to sleep.

Everything had fallen apart so completely, so quickly, her head spun. Her entire reason for living for the past...who even knew how many years anymore, was Ranma. She wanted revenge against him and his father for making the engagement and running off soon after, taking her dowry with them. Then, after they reconciled, she focused on following through with the engagement, all the plots, all the schemes, all of the, admittedly, underhanded things she did she wasn't really proud of...all for him. And now, he was gone.

She covered her face with her hands and asked herself for the thousandth time that night, how did things get this bad?

The bad thing was, she had no one to talk to, no one to open up to so she didn't have to keep everything bottled inside. She had always been alone since leaving her father to pursue the Saotomes, but it had never bothered her before until now. She desperately wanted to get rid of the weight on her chest, but she had no outlet...no one to unload on. The only ones who she counted as friends were, ironically, Ranma and amazingly enough, Akane. But how could se go to them? They were the source of her pain.

She was forced to back up. There was another who had proven to be a very good friend to her. One Ryouga Hibiki. They have shared their dreams with each other, plotted together, fought side by side (and complemented each other so well, it was as if they did so all their lives, even though it was that one time). He had even been her hero, saving her from a less than fortunate fate, albeit reluctantly. Ryouga Hibiki, whom she recently threw out of her life.

His parting words were like a dagger repeatedly plunged into her heart. She couldn't believe he'd have the nerve to say she was like Shampoo. What was worse was the fact he was right. It was one of those underhanded things she wasn't proud of; that she would use another human being as a tool, something of no more value than one of her cooking utensils. She prided herself on being better than that. Of everything that happened, that was the bitterest of pills to swallow; finding out she wasn't near as good as she thought she was.

She sighed heavily and looked out her bedroom window. It was probably divine punishment for those things she did pursuing Ranma. Now that he was out of her reach, she'd have to reevaluate her life and determine where to go from there. She'd also have to make things right with Ryouga. He didn't deserve what she put him through.

Squinting her eyes, she crawled out of bed and walked over to the window. "Why is it so bright outside?" she wondered. Night had fallen already and while the rain had passed, the sky was still covered with a thick blanket of clouds. At any rate, neither the sun nor the moon could explain the reddish hue the light was painting everything in.

Ukyou's eyes widened. Running to her closet, she redressed herself, grabbed her spatula and went out into the night. She recognized that glow, having experienced it earlier that day and if she was right, she was just as responsible for it as everyone else. Her emotional outburst must've been what sent him over the edge and she felt it was her responsibility to help him...or, if worse came to worse, stop him.

"Ryouga, I'm coming!"

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Lost –Part Three"

-

"You can't be serious!" cried Akane. "Ryouga has to die?"

"To put it bluntly, child, it's us or him," Cologne said. "As you said, you've already tried to break him out of his depression and it hasn't worked. I hate to say it, but right now, it's the only option left to us." She really did. Ryouga was one of the strongest kids she knew. It was always in the back of her mind to find some way to get him into her tribe after she and Shampoo got Ranma in.

Ranma looked back out to the battlefield. Kuno had gotten himself reinvolved, but he wasn't doing well. It wouldn't be long before he fell...again. Time was short. "Somebody get me some hot water," she said.

"Ranma! No!" pleaded Akane.

"You heard her. We don't have a choice anymore."

"Ranma." Cologne stared at her sternly. "Do you mean to tell me you have what it takes to kill Ryouga?"

Ranma returned her stare with the same intensity, "You better believe I do. After what he did to Akane, I'm gonna rip his head off."

"Stop your ridiculous posturing, boy and look deep within yourself. This isn't just another one of your little duels where you get to brush yourself off afterwards, go home and do the whole thing over again the next day. This will be for keeps. Do you REALLY think you have it in you to take another human life?"

Ranma stopped and looked down at her hands. In the short number of years she had been live, those hands had been used to defeat many a foe. But they had never been used to take a life before. Then her thoughts turned to Ryouga. He had already been through so much at her hands, some things she wouldn't wish upon anyone. Could she really kill him, on top of everything else she had done? Ranma took a deep breath, dropped her hands, looked back at Cologne and admitted, "...no."

Cologne nodded, "I didn't expect you too. Trust me, son-in-law, the decision to kill is never one to be taken lightly. It can weigh heavily on your young heart and lead you down some very dark paths to which there may be no return. That's why I'm here...to spare you from having to make that decision."

"Old woman..." Ranma started.

"One so young shouldn't have to bear such a huge burden. I'll keep those hands of yours clean a little while longer."

----+----

It wasn't going too well for Furinkan's shining star, Blue Thunder. Surely, this Hibiki fellow was no mere man, but a demon spawn from the lowest depths of Hades. Not that it would matter in the end. Just as the hero did in every epic, surely, he would find a way to be victorious in the end. Plus, he had to meet vengeance upon the spawn of the underworld for accosting his beloved pigtailed girl in the boorish manner in which it did.

The thing of it was, how would he be able to? The fiend was already beginning to shrug off his lightening bolt attack. Kuno panted heavily from all of the damage he had taken so far. Unfortunately, there was only one recourse left to him. The strain would probably kill him, but there was no sacrifice too great for the one he loved.

Kuno brought his bokken to bear and growled at Ryouga, "For the sake of my beloved pigtailed girl, I will make sure you will never threaten her again, no matter what it takes!" He gathered his energies and his entire being began to crackle with electricity. "NOW DIE! WRATH OF HEAV-"

-BONK-

As Kuno fell to the ground, unconscious, Cologne brought her giant staff back to her side. "You foolish children," she said. "Always with your big, flashy attacks. Like I just told Ranma, they won't work against Ryouga now. They'll either make him stronger, or will speed up our deaths, like you were about to do with your fool stunt."

Ryouga raised an eyebrow, "Wow, you've decided to step out of your kitchen and get involved yourself, 'ay old woman? I'm honored."

Cologne shook her head, "Again, I have no one to blame but myself. You'd think I'd know better by now than to underestimate you kids. I didn't think you, even with your normally depressive nature, could make the leap from the Roaring Lion's Bullet to the Soul Cry. Otherwise, I would've taken you in and trained you again once I found you had learned that horrible technique."

"Genuine concern?" went Ryouga. "Why, I'm touched. So, what happened that stopped you from doing so? Those usual, mundane chores in everyday life were too important to take attention away from for too long? Or, perhaps you had another plot to cook up to get Ranma to marry your stupid granddaughter? As I recall, the only reason you took me aside and trained me the first time was because you saw a useful tool to split Ranma and Akane up. So, what? You couldn't think of a way to use me and Ranma's Shi Shi Hakodan duel to your advantage, so you decided to just let it go?"

A bead of sweat ran down Cologne's forehead. So that was what he was using to fuel the rage and depression that gave the Soul Cry its power. Usually, the Soul Cry clouded one's vision, only letting them see the bad side of everything they've endured to stay in the 'snapped' condition while they were powering up. Ryouga's vision didn't need too much in the way of clouding, though, as he had, indeed, gone through some very horrific experiences. She was surprised he didn't mention the fact that just before she gave him his training to use the Breaking Point, she tried to cook him while he was in his pig form.

"Oh yeah...I also remember that you tried to cook me before you started training me!"

Well, there we go.

"So what now?" continued Ryouga. "That concern finally built up enough in you to try and 'knock some sense' in your wayward student?"

The answer was, likely, going to play into his hands, but she wasn't about to lie to him. "No, unfortunately, we're passed that now."

"Ooooh...I've made too much noise now. I haven't sat quietly in my corner and waited to be used again like a good tool and now I need to be disposed of, am I right?"

"I'm sorry, boy. But you leave me no choice." This was going to be bad. A person whose negative memories were mostly a product of his own perception would've been problem enough. For someone like Ryouga who, as she had just realized, had gone through very real and very unimaginable hardships...it was clear she had completely underestimated the amount of damage he'd be able to do, as she had underestimated the severity of his experiences. She had to make this quick.

She tapped the ground with the tip of her staff and it exploded in a large column of dirt and debris front of her. Subsequent explosions erupted, trailing it way to her opponent, until it completely enveloped the lost boy. Instinctively, he covered his face to protect it from the brunt of the attack. While her move looked impressive, there was really no force behind it. It just kicked up a lot of dust. A light bulb flicked on and Ryouga jerked his head to the side just dodging a tiny, wrinkled hand that shot forth from behind.

Ryouga grinned, "You'll have to do better than that."

As Cologne landed from her first strike, Ryouga launched a counter attack. While Ryouga was unable to land a punch due to her incredible speed, Cologne, much to her surprise, couldn't land a strike either. She narrowed her eyes, "What's the matter, boy? You've absorbed all the hits from everyone else, why are you dodging my attacks now?"

"Because, you're trying to end my bit of fun earlier than I intend," answered Ryouga. "I'm not blind, not anymore, anyway. While the others were just wailing away, trying to beat me into submission like they normally do, you're going after specific spots on my body." Cologne's eye twitched, listening to him. "With the experience I know you have and the way you were talking earlier, it's a safe bet that you're going after 'kill spots'. If you think I'm just going to let you kill me, you've got another thing coming. As I said before, I will die on my own terms...and not alone."

Cologne cursed under her breath. This is much worse than she thought. Not only was his tolerance for pain increased, but so was his speed. They were fighting at a level even Ranma would've had trouble keeping up with. It also seemed his senses were drastically sharpened as well, as he was able to decipher what she was up to easily. She shook her head, "I should've paid more attention to you, my boy. You have such great potential. I hate to see it go to waste like this."

She held her cane up and spun it above her head. The cane began to crackle with energy, generating an energy disk just above it. Cologne brought the staff down in front of her, pointing the business end at her opponent and the disk of energy shot forward at Ryouga. Ryouga deftly managed to jump out of the path of the attack. His eyes widened as he saw her attack slice right through an unlucky light pole that stood behind him.

"Now that's an interesting attack," Ryouga said. "Another one of your ancient Amazon attacks that date back three thousand years?"

Cologne smiled, "No. Actually, I saw that on a rerun of one of those martial arts cartoons. A lot of their attacks looked absolutely ridiculous, but a couple of them looked plausible and I've always wanted to give one of them a try. This one in particular seemed best for this situation. You see, while most energy attacks are high impact and either hit you with a powerful concussive force, or explode on contact, this one is so compact around the edges, it acts like a razor and cuts through most everything like a hot knife through butter. Quite an imaginative attack, I must say."

Ryouga couldn't help but smirk, "I didn't think you were in to watching those kinds of shows."

She shrugged. "We don't have TV's in the village and I thought I'd give it a try. Most of what's on is garbage, but every once in a while, I find something that piques my interest." She raised her staff above her head and spun it around again. "And amid all of the mind-numbing trash, you can find something useful that you can learn." She threw the second energy disk, aiming to cut off his head.

Calmly, Ryouga removed his belt and snapped it straight. Just before her energy disk struck, he cut it in half, the two pieces exploding on either side of him. He could see the disbelief in Cologne's eyes, so he explained, "Your description of that attack sounded very much like a move I used to use a long time ago. I used my belt the same way, so I figured I could use my technique to counter yours. Looks like mine was better than yours, hmm?" He held up his belt as sort of a gloating maneuver. He lost his smirk as half of his belt fell to the ground, cut mere centimeters from his hand. "Okay, so maybe it was a tie..."

Ryouga threw what was left of his ki-sharpened belt at Cologne's head. While she dodged his projectile, Ryouga launched himself at her, trying to land a flying kick while she was distracted. However, the aged matriarch had the wherewithal to dodge that strike as well. Unfortunately, while in mid air, she was swatted down by one of the tendrils of energy that danced around the suicidal martial-artist.

As Cologne tried to push herself back up, Ryouga loomed over her. "You should be happy, old woman. After all, isn't the proudest moment for a teacher when their student surpasses them?"

She looked at him defiantly. "You really think you've surpassed me, boy? Just because you got a lucky shot in, you shouldn't become so full of yourself. I still have a...huh?" She stopped, noting he wasn't paying her any attention any longer. Instead, he was gazing passed her, the interesting look of smug depression replaced with one of a barely controlled rage. She followed his gaze and found one of Shampoo's rivals for Ranma, the girl Ukyou Kuonji.

Ukyou navigated her way through the rubble, appalled at the devastation. In the middle of it all, she found Ryouga, red wisps of energy dancing angrily about him. It seemed, just as he had a profound impact upon her before they parted ways, she, indeed had an impact upon him. "Ryouga!" she called to him.

"What are you doin' here, Ucchan?" Ranma yelled from the sidelines. "Get out of here!"

She didn't even notice when he moved. In one moment, Ryouga was standing menacingly above Cologne. The next moment, he was in her face. Before she could say or do anything, Ryouga buried his fist into her stomach, causing her to collapse to her knees, gasping for air.

"NO! UKYOU!" Ranma rushed over to help her childhood friend.

"Stupid girl..." Cologne stood to her feet and bounded off to help Ukyou as well.

Ranma reached first and poised herself to strike, but Ryouga acted faster, kicking Ranma in the face, knocking her into Cologne and causing both to crash into a demolished building, burying them in debris.

"Do you two mind?" went Ryouga. "I'm trying to have a moment with my friend here." He turned his cold gaze back to the okonomiyaki chef, "Oh, that's right. We were never really friends, were we?"

"Ryouga..." she croaked, still trying to refill her lungs with oxygen.

He hoisted her up by the front of her shirt and held her close. "I do have to apologize...I know you can't stand being so close to me. But not to worry, after today, you won't have to see me ever again." He let her down gently, allowing her to stand shakily on her own legs. Taking a step back, Ryouga struck her in the face with one of the dancing tendrils. She began to fall backwards, but he used another tendril to make sure she stayed upright. He struck her in the face with the tendril again and again, careful not to cause any permanent damage…yet.

On the sidelines, the gathered audience was having a difficult time with this latest turn of events. "Aiya...even Shampoo not wish to have spatula girl go through that!"

Autumn trembled, baring her teeth, "I can't just stand here and watch this. I have to do something!"

"Like what?" asked Akane. "He's already made short work of us. Besides, anything we're capable of doing would just add to his strength, like Cologne said. We'd only make things worse. Like it or not, there's nothing we can do..."

Ranma groaned and tried to shake the cobwebs out of her head. She pushed a wall that had fallen on top of her off and sat up. She hated to admit it, but things were looking more and more hopeless. She wasn't about to sit there and watch Ryouga torture her friend, but she couldn't think of anything she could do that wouldn't make things worse.

"Hurmmmph"

Ranma blinked, "What in the world was that?"

-FLING!-

All of a sudden, Ranma found herself sailing through the air, coming back down face first on the sidewalk. Looking back in the debris, she found Cologne sitting where she once sat."Hey! What was that for?"

"I had to get your butt out of my face somehow," the old Amazon said. "And you should really go on a diet, son-in-law. You weigh a ton."

"What! Why you..."

"Shh...Ranma, look!"

Ranma looked to where Cologne was pointing. All she noticed was Ryouga still assaulting Ukyou. Immediately, she forgot about how she was unceremoniously dumped to the ground and she grit her teeth again. "Dammit, I have'ta do something!"

"No," ordered Cologne. "I told you, I have to do this. He's progressed a lot farther than I thought. Any more damage and he could blow. However, Ukyou's appearance may bode well for us. Now could be the last chance I have to end this, while he's distracted with her."

"You mean you're going to use Ukyou as a pawn while you hit Ryouga from the back?" went Ranma. "And what about her? What if she gets hurt in this attack of yours too?"

"I'm sorry boy. I will try to keep from hurting her, but I can't make any promises. If she does perish, then we will remember her as a great heroine who sacrificed herself to save the rest of our lives."

Ranme couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought Ryouga was rambling nonsense when he was talking about being used and the like. After hearing what Cologne had in mind, what Ryouga was talking about made a whole lot more sense. It was as if using other people came second nature to them and it didn't matter what happened to the person they used. But what could she do to stop this? As much as she tried to think of another way to handle things, still nothing came to mind.

With a wisp of his aura, Ryouga held Ukyou's limp form by the arm. She had ki burns all over and had trouble even holding her head up. With all of his rage spent, Ryouga's face donned the same expressionless façade as before. He figured he had finally done enough to everyone who contributed to his torment in life and decided it was time to finish things. "Any last words?"

Ukyou forced her head up so she could look Ryouga in the eye and she croaked, "Yes...just that...I'm sorry."

Ryouga raised an eyebrow. "'You're Sorry?' Heh, NOW you're sorry?"

"I hate to admit it," Ukyou continued, "but you were right about me. I-I did try to pass myself off as the better, nicer person; trying to get Ranma to marry me instead of Akane. It was all a fraud. What I said to you about using you proved that. But the part about us not being friends was wrong. That was me lashing out at an easy target because of how hurt I was. I'm sorry..."

"Very touching," spat Ryouga. He formed a ball of ki in his hand, "Maybe if you said that an hour ago, it probably would've meant something."

"We've run out of time," said Cologne. "It has to be now!" She started her razor disk attack again.

"Wait!" yelled Ranma.

"What are you doing, son-in-law? If I don't stop him now, we're all dead!"

"No, look!"

Ryouga still had his attack ready, poised to strike; yet he couldn't. His hand...his whole body trembled. This was it. This was the end he longed for. One last attack and it would all be over. He and all of his enemies would finally be put out of his misery. Yet, now that the moment of truth had finally arrived, he hesitated. Why? Was it because Ukyou said she was sorry? He had to hand it to her; she was the only one out of the whole, sorry lot that made an attempt at an apology. It was easy to see why she said those words, though. With her life and the lives of everyone else in town at stake, she'd say anything to stave off his wrath...to get out of paying for what she...what they all had done to her.

But if that was the case, why wasn't she struggling to get free, to try and fight back once she realized her pitiful attempt to appease him failed? She was definitely smart enough to realize that Ryouga would see through her phony attempts to placate him and have a backup plan. Yet, there she was, with her eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable, not lifting a finger to fight back. Come to think of it, she hadn't fought back during the whole ordeal he put her through. She let herself get caught right from the get-go. She put herself at his mercy and he savagely mauled her.

It was as if something in his head clicked back into reality.

He dropped her and staggered backwards. Was he really about to murder someone in cold blood? Especially a woman? That went against his entire code as a warrior. And the town...did he become such a monster that in his grief, he was willing to kill countless innocents to get back at those who wronged him?

"N...no," he said finally. "W-what have I become?"

Ukyou, still prone on the ground, looked up at him, "Ryouga!"

"Ukyou! I-I can't believe I nearly...ah, I'm sorry! I'm so-"

"Ryouga," she said again, "your power..."

That's right. He had accumulated so much energy during his assault. He had to get rid of it before he accidentally popped and destroyed the town anyway. He focused as much energy as he could into his hands and fired it skyward. The wind from the force of his attack reached near gale force, prompting everyone to brace themselves against the few remaining stable structures. It seemed to take forever to get the blast out; Ryouga never wielded so much power at once before and was straining against his own attack.

After what seemed like an eternity, the winds died down and everyone chanced a glance at what was going on. Ryouga was kneeling on the ground in front of Ukyou, panting heavily. The reddish aura that danced around him had gone.

"Hey," went Ranma, walking up behind her rival.

"It's over," Ryouga told her.

Ranma bopped him over the head, "You idiot. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't. I was running on unbridled emotion and alcohol and it nearly destroyed me."

"Not to mention the rest of us," Ranma quipped. "Though, in that rage you were in, you were saying things that are starting to make a lot of sense. That stuff about using people...I thought it was just a bunch of nonsense, but now I see what you're saying all too clearly."

Ryouga nodded. "Seems Ukyou sees this as well. It's a good thing she did when she did. She's the only reason we're alive now."

"So what're you going to do now?"

"Ukyou saved me, so I'm going to return the favor." Ryouga picked Ukyou up, "I'm going to nurse her back to health. Can you let everyone know how sorry I am over all this?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." And with that, Ryouga began to walk away.

"Ryouga."

"Hmm?"

Ranma pointed in the opposite direction, "Ucchan's is that way."

"Oh...right." And with that, Ryouga began to walk the right way.

As Ryouga went off, Cologne came up besides Ranma. "Good call, son-in-law. How did you know he wasn't going to follow through with his attack?"

"I didn't. It was all a gamble." Cologne sweatdropped.

"So, this is it?" asked Mousse, as he, Shampoo, Autumn and Akane crowded around them. "After all of that, he just stops?"

"Better than him following through and killing us all, right?" Ranma said.

"And he just gets to walk away like nothing happened?"

"No. He will be paying. I think Ukyou will make sure of that."

Mousse shook his head, "Geez, I really don't like how this is ending."

Cologne raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And how would you have liked it to end?"

Mousse shrugged, "I guess I'd feel better about it if I got to hit him a couple of times too..."

----+----

"Brother! Brother dear!"

The eyes of Furnkan's champion, Tatewaki Kuno, fluttered open, finding his sister kneeling over him. He sat up and took stock of his situation...The night had passed, the sun shining brightly in the sky. The streets were cleared of debris and the demolished buildings were already undergoing reconstruction.

He looked around and asked, "What has happened, sister? Where are our opponents?"

"They have gone, brother. Apparently, they have been gone for quite some time."

Kuno leapt to his feet. "Hah! Surely they feared our prowess as warriors and have fled for their lives."

Kodachi nodded, "Undoubtedly."

The Kuno siblings laughed manically.

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----


	8. The Torch

It had been a week since the fiasco with Ryouga occurred. As usual, the municipal disaster recovery team set up strictly for incidents involving martial artists, N-Marc, had done an exemplary job in repairing the damage inflicted to town. And for all of his bluster, Ryouga inflicted very little personal damage to anyone involved, except to Ukyou...which explained why she hadn't been to school in that week.

The sun had long since gone down and it was nearly time to retire for the night. Ranma was in the bathroom, dressing after a nice, relaxing bath. As he did so, he thought about the events of a week earlier and what Ryouga was saying about how they liked to use people. As much as he hated to admit it, he was guilty as well. Certainly, he wasn't as bad as some others. Cologne, after all, was willing to use Ukyou as distraction to save the rest of them...killing Ukyou in the process. That knowledge did little to make him feel any better.

Speaking of Ukyou, his past with her bothered him more than anything. Even though he was a child and didn't really know any better, he didn't think that absolved him of any responsibility. He and his father used her and her father. And for what? A few scraps of food that didn't last for very long? It nearly cost him his closest friend. He didn't know how, but he figured he could come up with a way to make things up to her when he decided he would own up to the promise made by their fathers and become her fiancée. But now that he and Akane were official, it seemed he just hurt her even more.

He planned on paying her a visit after school to see how she was recovering. As a penance of sorts, Ryouga volunteered to nurse her back to health. By now, he probably got lost trying to navigate her place and left her alone to fend for herself. Ranma hoped that he would come up with an idea for how he could also make things up to her during his visit.

Ranma gathered his belongings and exited the bathroom. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts; he didn't notice the ambush waiting for him. "Get him!" was all the warning he got before the world around him went black.

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"The Torch"

-

The well-dressed newcomer carefully tread across the urban terrain, making sure to avoid any of the puddles of water in the street. He cursed at the bizarre weather patterns of this new town he had to call home. It always seemed to rain there at the most inopportune times. To say the least, it was very rough on his immaculate wardrobe.

There were rumors circulating around the neighborhood that Hibiki was involved in a major brawl a week ago. This was the first solid lead he had gotten since he arrived in Nerima as to his target's whereabouts. He hoped that the area hadn't been too cleaned up yet. He wanted to search the battlefield to see if there were any clues available that would tell him where Ryouga had gone to afterwards. Unfortunately, he hit another dead end. It seemed the city repair crews were very efficient, as the area didn't have the slightest hint of damage.

It was just his luck. There was no telling how far Hibiki could've wandered by now. Out of frustration, he punched a nearby light pole, his fist embedded right underneath a "Please Do Not Punch" sign. With the trail already cold, he decided there was nothing more for him to do that night. Before he could get caught in any more rain, he started back for his apartment.

"AAAK! PERVERT!"

The newcomer froze. He already learned from experience that expression meant nothing good. He turned to look behind him, but there was nothing there. He looked to either side of him and again, he found nothing. Finally, he looked up.

-WHUD!-

He found himself with a pair of feet planted in his face. The offender used his face as a springboard to leap out into the street to makes its escape. He staggered backwards but managed to keep his balance. The new comer looked up and found a familiar old troll bounding away from him. "You again!"

Happousai looked back. "Oh, hiya sonny! Sorry, I can't stay and play right now!"

The newcomer brought his umbrella to bear, "You're not going to get away this time you freak!"

-WHUD!-

The newcomer was planted face first into the street by another set of feet landing on his head. "You get back here, you pervert!" he heard a female voice call. He looked up to see whom else the old pervert managed to tick off.

He raised his brow, "Was that a...ninja?" Sure enough, he was looking at the retreating form of a female in full ninja garb, chasing the old man with a kodachi drawn. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off; glad he didn't land in any of the standing puddles of water. "Feh," he said. "I hope she teaches that troll a lesson."

"Who's a troll?"

He turned around and found Happousai had somehow managed to get behind him. Faster than the newcomer could counter, Happousai snagged his arm with his trusty pipe and flipped the young punk into the air, causing him to face-plant into the ground once again. "That oughta teach you to respect your elders, boy!" the diminutive pervert said as he bounded off again, laughing as he did.

"...I hate this town," the newcomer grumbled.

----+----+----+----+---- 

It was nighttime...that was good. With the headache she had, Ukyou didn't think she could take the sunlight. Even though the day was almost over, these were her first waking moments of it. Slowly, she sat up in her bed and took stock of her situation. There was still some soreness in her limbs, but other than that, and her headache, she felt better than she had in quite a while. Seemed like the ministrations of the good Dr. Hibiki had worked its wonders.

Two other bits of information made themselves painfully obvious. The first was that she was quite hungry. The second...she stank very badly.

Oh well, the second problem she could take care of at her convenience. For right now, the first one was most pressing. "Ryouga!" She paused, her voice seemed quite a bit stronger than the last time she ventured to use it. Definitely a good sign. Now, if only her 'doctor' would notice. "Ryouga!" Once again, there was no response. Apparently on her own, Ukyou got to her feet, leaning against the wall, as her first steps were shaky.

Going down the stairs, she could already feel the damp night air on her skin. Sure enough, the front door to her restaurant was wide open and Ryouga was nowhere in sight. She went to the doorway to see if he was wondering around in front of the shop, confused. Again, he was nowhere to be found. Ukyou sighed inwardly, wondering where he could've wondered off to this time. Just before she returned to the comfort of the indoors, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Hmm? These look like Ryouga's clothes..." She bent over to inspect them and found they were thoroughly soaked. No question as to why; looking at the state of the rest of the neighborhood, it had been pouring rain recently. Though her inspection, she found something else tangled between the clothes. She plied the layers away and found a little black pig huddled within the fabric.

"Awww, look at you..." Ukyou said. She couldn't help but smile. That was real sweet of Ryouga to cover up the little guy to protect it from the elements. Though, it would've been smarter if he took it inside first, but at least he tried. Depressed nature aside, he really had a good heart. Now, if only he could do something about that sense of direction...

"Hey, I recognize you," she said to the dozed piglet, "You're Akane's pet, aren't you?" She wondered how it managed to reach there from the Tendo dojo without anyone noticing. She sighed, "I guess I'll have to take you back over to her, huh?" She really didn't want to face them again so soon after...She felt herself getting depressed, but she shook herself out of it. That wasn't her and she didn't want to sink into that trap. She returned to the matters at hand to take her mind away from the subject of...them. Ryouga was still gone and she was still hungry. However, she didn't want to contaminate her kitchen with the stench she was carrying. Plus, the pig was filthy also.

"I guess I'll be taking that bath first after all," she said to herself. "I guess I'll get you cleaned up too, little guy. That way, we'll both be able to eat more comfortably." Satisfied with her decision, she walked back into the restaurant and closed the door.

----+----+----+----+---- 

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Bellowed Ranma, now awake, aware and really P.O.ed at being blindsided. He also had his arms tied behind his back. "When I get outta this, I'm gonna..."

"The only thing you're going to do, boy, is fulfill your duty."

Ranma blinked. "Pop?"

"That's right, boy," Genma said, looming over Ranma on one side. Looking at the room around him, Ranma could tell he had been taken to the dojo.

"Ranma, this is such a happy day!" said Soun, who was on Ranma's other side.

"What're you talkin' about?" went Ranma.

"Even though we had to deal with more important matters at the time, we remember that little episode you had with Akane in the front yard. We were so happy to find you finally admitted how you felt for each other!" Ranma remembered. That was back when they revealed Akane...all of the Tendo sisters were half-demon. After that news, Ranma forgot about how they spied on them. That was devious, even for them, to wait until that was a distant memory to pull this now.

Ranma looked down at himself. Sure enough, he was dressed in a tuxedo. "I should've known you would try somethin' like this!" he said, struggling against his bonds. "You ain't forcin' us to get married now!"

"What? Don't tell me you're going to disappoint Akane here?" said Genma. "And after she got all made up for you too."

It was then Ranma notice Akane was there in the dojo as well. She was clad in a floral patterned wedding dress. The top resembled a bustier: it was shoulderless, sleeveless and it revealed a healthy amount of cleavage. The bottom was long, flowing and ornate with a top layer of sheer, see-through material with the floral patterns over the opaque white skirt. She wore a matching pair of elbow length gloves with light pink lace trim on the wrists and a pink lace choker on her neck done in a bow in front. The outfit was capped off with a floral arraignment adorning her hair. To say the least, it left Ranma completely dumbstruck.

Genma smiled, "I don't think he has any more objections, Tendo."

Her closed eyes fluttered open and she looked into Ranma's eyes, which were still transfixed upon her. She looked him over. Then she looked herself over...and got upset. "HEY!"

"Saotome! I thought you said that chloroform would put her out for the rest of the night?" went a frantic Soun.

"It should have," said Genma. "Unless it only had half the effect, since she's only half-human!"

Akane growled, "You two!" She grabbed her father and soon to be father-in-law and punted them into the night. "You will not force us to get married! Our wedding will happen when we're ready and not a moment before!" She shook her head and turned her attention back to her fiancée. "And you! Were you just going to just sit there and let them do this to us?"

Ranma snapped back to reality, "Hey, I wasn't gonna just let them do anything." He turned around and showed her the predicament he was in, "But then, I wasn't really in a position to do anything about it."

With a sigh, Akane knelt down and untied the ropes that held bound Ranma's hands. "Jeez...I can't believe the nerve of those two."

"I do know one thing," Ranma said. "When we do get married, I'd like it a lot if you wore that dress."

Akane blushed and smiled despite herself.

----+----+----+----+---- 

"Hmm...much better." Having scrubbed herself thoroughly, Ukyou took a bucket of cold water and doused herself with it, rinsing away the grime. The cuts on her body were gone, she was glad to find out. But the bruises were still quite visible. It would take a few more days before they would go away completely, but fortunately for her, most would be covered when she went out in public.

The tub awaited and she so looked forward to diving in and letting it relax her aches away, but there was one last thing she had to do. Carefully, she picked up the sleeping pig beside her and put it in her lap. She lathered her hands with soap and gently scrubbed away all of the dirt. With the last bit of cold water left in the bucket, she rinsed it off. Not prepared for the sudden rush of cold, the pig woke up shivering.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ukyou said to the pig. "I didn't mean to wake you like that." The pig glared at her, but then it noticed her state of undress. Ukyou tilted her head to the side. Did the pig really just blush and look away from her? Nah. She had to have been imagining things. But it was still shivering. "I know, I know. You're still cold. But don't worry. That won't be a problem for long."

With the pig in hand, she stood up and walked over to the tub filled to the brim with hot water. Seeing this, the pig's eyes got wide and began to struggle against her. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" wondered Ukyou aloud. "I know most animals don't like baths, but the hard part's over. This is the part where we indulge ourselves." With every step closer she took to the tub, the pig struggled harder.

Finally, she got into the tub and immersed herself, but held the pig above water, wondering why it was fighting her so all of a sudden. She shook her head, "Fine...I won't put you all the way in. I'll just dip you in to warm you up, then dry you right off, okay?"

"BWEEE!" It renewed its frantic struggle.

"Okay, here we go." She dipped the pig into the water, holding its head just above the surface. "There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Inexplicably, the weight of the pig seemed to increase. So much so, that she dropped the pig into the tub. "What the? Oh no! Where are you, piggy? I hope you can swim!"

She felt something brushing on her legs, but there was no way that could've been a pig. She felt around under the water and found the bandanna that was supposed to have been wrapped around the pig's neck and pulled it up out of the water. Instead of the pig, she found herself face to face with...

"Ryouga?"

Ryouga looked at her and with a sheepish look said the only thing that came to mind. "Umm...bwee?"

----+----+----+----+---- 

On the roof of Autumn's herbal medicine shop, she and her intended, Mousse, sat stargazing. Or rather, he was laying on a blanket looking at the stars, while Autumn sat beside him deep in thought. She couldn't help but think about the conversation they had a week ago and the mess that followed shortly after. The whole reason she left her tribe was so she could make a life of her own, perhaps find love and find excitement. So far, she'd accomplished everything, more than she could've ever imagined. But could it be that the excitement was over already?

Mousse sat up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about what you told me before," she said. "You said that once the truth about Ranma and Akane came to light, things would get bad...and they did. Now, since that's passed, does that mean it's the end?"

Thinking back, Mousse recalled the conversation they had after leaving the Tendo Dojo. Ranma and Akane were the glue that held that group of insane martial artists together with the hopes of defeating and/or marrying one or the other. Now that they've finally admitted their love for each other and the subsequent blow-up from the other prospective marriage mates had come and gone the real moment of truth had arrived. Unless someone was to step in and fill the void Ranma and Akane were now leaving, it truly would be the end.

----+---- 

Within the city's shadows, the ninja girl crept, looking for her prey. This was twice since she had been there that the little troll had molested her. With her primary search not bearing any fruit, she decided to break off from it to pursue this, more personal vendetta. There was no way she was going to let that old pervert get away with accosting her the way he did without a proper punishment. Unfortunately, the old pervert seemed quite skilled a martial artist himself. Plus, he was very crafty and eluded her easily.

This was going to be good for her. Since she graduated from ninja training, she had yet to encounter a worthy opponent. Scratch that, there was one other time in a bathhouse. Another pervert. At least the one in the bathhouse was a handsome young man and not a wrinkled old goat like this one. At any rate, this was going to be a true test of her training as a ninja. If she could defeat him, she knew there would be no challenge that she couldn't overcome. Giving him a few swift kicks in the face for goosing her would be a bonus.

"YOU PERVERT! YOU GET BACK HERE!"

Pervert? It must be the wrinkled old troll again, going after another girl. Silently, she ran through the alleyway to get in front of them. Once she was in position, she waited patiently for them to get in range. He wasn't going to escape this time.

"AAAH! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU CRAZY GIRL!"

Hmm? That wasn't the old man's voice.

The two finally came into view and the ninja's jaw dropped at the sight before her: a naked, brown-haired woman with a giant weapon that resembled a spatula chasing a naked fang-toothed man in a bandana.

Wait...she looked at the man closely and recognized his face. "I don't believe it...it's you!"

----+---- 

The newcomer rubbed his temples...his head was still throbbing from being pounded into the pavement so many times. Screw the stupid lease. He didn't care how much the penalty he had to pay would be. He couldn't stand the thought of being in that stupid town any longer. Besides, it was clear to him now that Hibiki wasn't here. Better to cut his losses and get out of there before he had any permanent damage done to him.

"RYOUGA HIBIKI, YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

"..."

From his perch on top of a lamppost he saw his prey, running naked down the street with some crazy woman waving a giant spatula chasing after him. He rubbed his eyes, sure that the many blows to the head were making him see things. Unfortunately, when he looked again, the sight was still there. He didn't know what it was about that place that made everyone so crazy...he just hoped it wasn't contagious.

"Well, not the way I wanted to see you, but I've found you at last, Ryouga Hibiki. Now that I've found you, I'll make you pay for what you've done to me. And I intend to make you suffer more for making me stay in this insane town too!"

----+---- 

The news was grand, indeed. Ranma Saotome had, indeed, declared his love for that girl, Akane Tendo. That meant that his engagement to Ukyou was now null and void. Tsubasa giggled like a little schoolgirl (and in his usual state of dress, he looked the part as well). The major obstacle between he and his love was now gone. Hearing the news herself, Ukyou would probably be very sad. What better way to work himself into her heart than to help her feel better during her greatest time of need?

Tsubasa giggled again. It had taken a long time to get to this moment, but through patiently biding his time, he would finally be victorious! Why, he could almost hear her right now, calling his name.

"RYOUGA!"

Wait...that wasn't his name...

Looking down from the balcony of his apartment, Tsubasa saw the love of his life, Ukyou Kuonji, chasing after some guy with her mega spatula. Wait...that guy...Tsubasa remembered him now. He was that Ryouga Hibiki fellow who was with Ukyou before. Was he going to be another obstacle in his path to true love?

He went back into his living room, various blueprints, machine parts and weaponry strewn about on the floor. Ranma Saotome, Ryouga Hibiki, it didn't matter to him. With his new 'disguises' at his disposal, no one would stand in his way. Thinking about it made him laugh malevolently...which, unfortunately, sounded like yet another schoolgirl giggle.

----+---- 

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO WISH YOU DID BLOW YOURSELF UP!"

"SOMEONE! HELP ME!"

Mousse and Autumn sweatdropped as they watched Ukyou chase Ryouga through the streets of Nerima, both naked as the days they were born. Autumn blushed and cleared her throat, "Well, that's something you don't see every day...thankfully."

Suddenly, Mousse smiled and leaned back onto the blanket. "Hey Autumn. That stuff we were talking about before? I have this sneaking suspicion we don't have to worry about that anymore."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----

-End Book One


End file.
